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Apple has new betas ready for developers: beta 2 for watchOS 11.5, visionOS 2.5, tvOS 18.5, and more is now available for download.

Apple kicked off a new beta cycle back in early April with macOS Sequoia 15.5 developer beta 1. Though there’s still no public beta in sight, the company just released beta 2 for developers.

Apple today announced that it has officially rebranded Search Ads as ‘Apple Ads’, reflecting the expanding scope of Apple’s advertising business.

When Apple first launched ads in the App Store, they were only shown as promoted search results, hence the name ‘Search Ads’. But the company now offers advertising placements in many more places beyond just the Search tab, so the old name had become a bit anachronistic.

Apple has released the second iPadOS and iOS 18.5 developer beta. The first beta was a big nothing burger for iPhone and iPad users. Hopefully iOS 18.5 beta 2 brings more interesting changes.

Apple’s Vision Pro launched last year as a cutting-edge technological feat, yet it’s been plagued by issues like its high price and being too heavy for some. But the Vision Pro has one very big advantage in its favor that could make all the difference in the world: Tim Cook’s AR glasses goal.

Amid all the back-and-forth turmoil surrounding tariffs, and ongoing sales struggles in China, Apple and the iPhone have at times appeared “doomed.” But new data from Counterpoint reveals the iPhone actually just hit a big sales achievement for the first time ever.

We’ve seen iPhone 17 Pro Max dummy units, and we’ve gawked at iPhone 17 Pro Max cases. Yet when you put the two together, you get a real sense of the shape of things to come.

The new Chipolo POP is a colorful new tracking tag that works with both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find My Device networks. Unlike AirTag, it has a built-in hole for easy attachment to keyrings and bags.

It’s not the first time that we’ve seen Find My-compatible trackers from the company – we tested one of them back in 2021 – but it’s the first time you haven’t had to use an app to get cross-platform compatibility …

Apple TV+ has canceled one of its longest-running shows, and the oldest comedy series in its lineup: Mythic Quest is no more. Here are the details.

Ahead of the Apple Watch’s 10th anniversary on April 24th, Apple is out with new research data today that highlights associations between the closure of Activity Rings and sleep, heart health, and mental wellbeing. The data comes from data contributed by over 140,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study…

Trump’s rationale for his threatened tariffs is to force companies to manufacture in the US. He’s cited the example of Apple making iPhones in the US, and even recently claimed that the company plans to do so.

Apple has explained many times why it simply wouldn’t be practical to do this, with CEO Tim Cook doing so a full decade ago. Analysts, supply-chain experts, and a former Apple engineer have all added their weight to the view that it simply isn’t possible, and wouldn’t help even if it were …

Apple has just announced a special new Apple Watch fitness challenge to mark 10 years of the product’s impact. Separately, there’s a special limited-edition pin that you can pick up at an Apple Store to celebrate a decade of closing Apple Watch rings.

Let’s see, where are we in the Trump tariff saga? After the White House increased tariffs on Chinese imports <counts> five times in the space of nine weeks, we then got a “pause” and an exemption on consumer electronics products – before the latest development.

Namely, the White House yesterday said that the exemption, which covers all Apple products, was only a temporary one, lasting 1-2 months. However, there are three reasons why this is exceedingly unlikely to be true …

In case the continuously evolving tariff news hasn’t been confusing enough, there’s now another twist to the story. According to the Trump administration, the exemption from the 125% reciprocal tariff is only temporary, and a tariff will apply to smartphones, laptops, and more in “a month or two.”

Tim Cook really wants Apple to make true AR glasses. He “cares about nothing else”, according to an Apple engineer. That said, building true AR glasses will take a lot of time.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman though, Apple is developing “its own glasses with cameras and microphones” in the meanwhile, similar to Meta Ray-Bans. Despite this interim product, AR glasses are Tim Cook’s “top priority.”

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is going full steam ahead on a lighter and cheaper version of Apple Vision Pro, addressing some of the biggest pain points with the first generation headset. There’s also a second headset in the works, which aims to reduce latency concerns with real world applications.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to make its upcoming iPadOS 19 overhaul “more like macOS.” This comes after many, many years of complaints about the capability of the iPad’s operating system.

This morning, Bloomberg reported that tech imports would be excluded from the Trump administrations 125% “reciprocal” China tariff. To be specific, this includes “smartphones, laptop computers, hard drives and computer processors and memory chips.” In short, Apple doesn’t really have something to worry about anymore – at least for now. The initial 20% tariff for the “fentanyl crisis” is still in place, however.

While we are safe from imminent price hikes for now, an additional 125% tariff on China would’ve been extremely damaging. Here’s a quick overview bullet we just dodged.

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.

VoicePen is a native app for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro that transcribes your lectures, meetings, and any sort of speech into clear notes. All of the transcriptions run through OpenAI’s Whisper model, making it accurate and fast. It also offers more than just meeting transcriptions, and can be used for YouTube videos and other online content.

Some of you may not know this, but during a brief period from summer 2021 to fall 2023 – Apple made a battery bank.

Of course, since it’s Apple, it was MagSafe. This MagSafe battery pack had a number of interesting features and quirks, and ultimately it only stuck around for two years. However, thanks to an interesting new Apple trend, I think it’s plausible that it comes back – but not as an Apple product.

Apple and its customers can breathe a sigh of relief today after the White House carved tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, and more. The iPhone maker was facing a 145% fee on products imported into the United States from China. This caused weeks of speculation that the iPhone and other electronics could be subject to price hikes to cover the cost.

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One of the constant challenges for IT teams is balancing security and productivity, especially regarding network access. It’s easy to give people broad permissions to keep things moving, but that creates long-term cybersecurity risks when that access lasts longer than is needed. I am a massive fan of Tailscale, and the company has rolled out a new feature that addresses that problem.

Apple makes a variety of Apple Pencil products, but they only differ in features, not so much in design. Thanks to ColorWare, however, you can now buy an Apple Pencil Pro that’s designed to resemble a crayon—and it comes in seven different color options.