Apple trade-ins aren’t known for their generosity, but they do make for a very painless experience when upgrading to new devices – and the company will accept any older electronic devices for recycling if they have too little value for trade-in.

The company is currently linking to its trade-in and recycling page from the Apple homepage, in the run-up to this year’s Earth Day on April 22 …

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Fixed: Video Scrubbing Not Working on iOS 17 and 17.4

The proper solution to why video scrubbing is not working may depend on whether or not your iPhone is already running iOS 17.4. As a musician, I use my iPhone 15 Pro to learn songs, and a buggy scrubbing feature is a major inconvenience. Thankfully, I found the most common causes and explanations after some […]

This post Fixed: Video Scrubbing Not Working on iOS 17 and 17.4 appeared first on The Mac Observer

Update: A court has ruled that Mark Zuckerberg cannot be held personally liable for claims that Meta sought to make its apps addictive to children. Lawyers will be able to re-file, this time claiming against Meta rather than Zuckerberg.

Two separate reports today accuse Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta of ignoring reports of parents sexually exploiting their own children for financial gain using paid subscription tools …

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Macworld

Following a brief sojourn at the top of the table, Apple has dropped down to the number-two spot (by units shipped) in the global smartphone market.

According to IDC’s figures for the first quarter of 2024, Samsung has moved back to the top position with 60.1 million shipments, a market share of 20.8 percent. Apple is in second place with 50.1 million (17.3 percent) while the Chinese firm Xiaomi sits in third place with 40.8 million units and a share of 14.1 percent.

Samsung outperformed Apple across 2023 as a whole, but the Cupertino company did top the table at the end of the year. Apple traditionally performs especially well in the fall/early winter period following its annual...

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating
Pros

• Fast standards on every port
• Four USB-C data ports with three at 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2)
• 8K video output (up to 30Hz)
• 85W of passthrough power over USB-C
• Well-labeled ports

Cons

• No dedicated Micro SD slot

Our Verdict

The Satechi USB-C Multiport 8K dock provides four USB-C data ports (three at 10Gbps USB 3.2), gigabit ethernet, the latest in SD Card standards, 8K video, and 85W of passthrough USB-C power making it a compact powerhouse sized correctly for mid-range laptops.

Price When Reviewed

$99.99

Best Prices Today: Satechi USB-C Multiport Adapter 8K With Ethernet V3

Retailer

Price

$99.99

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Apple just published a new Press Release:

• Apple Developer Academy expands to Bali
  

Macworld

Son, your mother and I want to talk to you about AI.

No, don’t get up.

Look, we don’t want you to learn about it on the streets. Because it’s an ugly business.

The Macalope probably doesn’t have to detail the many problems with AI. First of all, it’s a misnomer. Calling today’s large language models “artificial intelligence” is like calling the first combustion engine a warp drive. Second, much like a coal furnace, all these various constructs have to be fed a corpus of content in order to be able to generate anything at all. Where does all the come from? Uh, blurgle frangle blooble hammer, we, uh, just found it lying around! No, actually, you didn’t, you used a whole bunch of other people’s work and you didn’t pay a damn thing for it.

Then, of course, the results you’ll get from your model will vary based on the inputs. If you only 4chan comments, I wouldn’t go asking it for any medical advice. Part...

How To Stop the Charging Cable Symbol From Showing on Apple Watch

While your Apple Watch typically shows a circle with a lightning bolt when it’s on charge, you’ll sometimes see a charging cable symbol and have to deal with your watch not working as it should. Fortunately, this problem is often quite easy to fix. Today, I’ll show you how to get your Apple Watch charging […]

This post How To Stop the Charging Cable Symbol From Showing on Apple Watch appeared first on The Mac Observer

Macworld

Microsoft 365 puts all the most useful apps you and your family need in the cloud, so you can tap into them anywhere. This Microsoft 365 Family subscription gives you 15 months of access for six people, with an extra 20% off with code ENJOY20 through April 21.

Microsoft 365 gives you access to the full-featured versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PowerPoint, and more, offering...

Tech Giants Like Apple Can Now Face Fines Upto 20% for Anti-Competitive Tech Practices in Japan

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing a change in the country’s antitrust laws. The revisions target tech giants like Apple, which is accused of anti-competitive practices, which can then lead to much steeper fines.  The proposed changes mostly aim at behaviors like unfairly restricting access to app stores. Companies found to be engaging in […]

This post Tech Giants Like Apple Can Now Face Fines Upto 20% for Anti-Competitive Tech Practices in Japan appeared first on ...

A recent report revealed that Spotify is planning to raise the price of its subscription soon, at least in some countries. And for those who think that paying $10.99 a month for a music streaming platform is already too much, the company may soon introduce an even more expensive “Music Pro” subscription that will enable lossless audio and some other extra features.

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iPhone 15 5G Performance Is Slower Than Samsung Galaxy 24 Across the Globe

Ookla released its most recent research on 5G smartphone performance, which includes a competition between the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series and the iPhone 15 family.  In most of the tested countries, Samsung’s new smartphones had faster median 5G performance than the iPhone 15 series. Ookla shared these test results in a blog post with […]

This post iPhone 15 5G Performance Is Slower Than Samsung Galaxy 24 Across the Globe appeared first on The Mac Observer

In a 9to5Mac Happy Hour Plus members-only episode, Benjamin and Chance watch BlackBerry, the 2023 film covering the “story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone.” 

Subscribe at 9to5Mac.com/join to listen and support the show directly! You’ll also get ad-free episodes, post-show content every week, and more.

• BlackBerry (2023) on Letterboxd

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Maintenance release for the recently upgraded reference management tool. ($74.99 new, $49.99 upgrade, free update for version 15 users, 113.5 MB, macOS 10.13+)

Trying to stand out among all the MagSafe accessories on the market can often be challenging. What makes one battery pack better than the others? What makes one stand better than the others? It can often come down to minor features, pricing, and form factor. That’s precisely what the aims to deliver: a robust battery pack at a fair price that can charge up to three devices at the same time.

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It’s our 34th anniversary today, and Adam Engst marks the occasion by sharing some thoughts and stats about where TidBITS is now, along with new discounts on apps from the Ukrainian companies Belight Software and MacPaw.

Earlier this month, Apple revised its App Store Guidelines to permit game emulator apps for the first time. On Saturday, one of the first such apps was approved: iGBA. This app allowed users to import and play ROMs download from the internet. On Sunday, however, the app was pulled from the App Store without full explanation.

Apple has now provided more clarity on why iGBA was removed from the App Store after initially being approved.

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Monday’s best deals have a new all-time low on Apple’s just-released 15-inch M3 MacBook Air landing at $1,150 – a savings of $149. There’s also a chance to score the Sonos Era 300 smart speaker as it drops to $359 alongside Apple Pencil with USB-C returning to its all-time low of $69. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

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Macworld

While Apple silicon has done great things for the Mac, Apple has yet to settle on a predictable update cycle for its Mac lineup. Along with shifting release schedules, each generation of chips has skipped a model without a clear reason why.

The Mac Pro and high-end Mac mini never got the M1 chip. The iMac completely skipped the M2. And the M3 hasn’t made it to the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. But a new report claims the M4 will finally put the entire Mac lineup on a level playing field as Apple plans to update its entire catalog with the next-gen chip.

According to...

Ookla is out with its latest report on 5G smartphone performance with the latest data including the new Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup. As it turns out, Samsung’s new smartphones saw faster median 5G performance than the iPhone 15 lineup in the majority of countries tested.

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Apple has lost its spot as the world's biggest mobile phone seller after a steep sales drop as South Korean rival Samsung retook the lead in the global market share. From a report: Samsung had been the biggest seller of mobile phones for 12 years until the end of 2023, when sales of Apple's iPhone models overtook it. Global smartphone shipments increased by 8% to 289.4m units during January-March, according to research firm IDC. Samsung won a 20.8% market share, beating Apple's 17.3% share, which has been dented by slowing sales in China.

IDC said that Apple shipped 50.1m iPhones in the first quarter, down from the 55.4m units it shipped in the same period last year. It was the biggest drop in iPhone sales since Covid-19 lockdowns caused global supply chain chaos in 2022. The drop in Apple sales, despite a growing global market, was partly ascribed to difficulties in China. Local rivals including Xiaomi and Huawei have put pressure on Apple and Samsung. At the same time,...

Global iPhone market share dropped 9.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, enabling Samsung to retake the smartphone lead despite failing to increase its own shipments.

Apple saw the biggest slump of any brand, at a time when the global smartphone market as a whole continues to grow …

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Apple is rolling out a new update to the Apple Sports app today ahead of NHL and NBA playoffs kicking off. The update brings additional details and information on NHL and NBA games for the playoffs, Apple says.

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Macworld

iPhone owners feeling skeptical about the reliability of AI may be pleased to hear that Apple’s take on the technology will probably work on device rather than via the cloud. Initially, at any rate.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman made the revelation in the Q&A portion of this week’s Power On newsletter. “As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling [at WWDC] on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” he said (via...

iPhone 16 Pro To Solve One of Apple’s Biggest Flaws

If you own an iPhone and like photography, you may have noticed an issue common to all Apple devices. Depending on the scene, one or several green dots or halos of light often appear in the image that shouldn’t be there. That’s due to light reflections on the iPhone lenses. And now the iPhone 16 […]

This post iPhone 16 Pro To Solve One of Apple’s Biggest Flaws appeared first on The Mac Observer

While the Supreme Court denied appeal requests from both Apple and Epic Games in the App Store case, that didn’t put an end to legal wrangling between the two companies.

In January, Epic Games headed back to court to accuse Apple of failing to comply with the original antitrust ruling, and now the Cupertino company has asked a judge to dismiss the...

Macworld

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Big news

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the iPhone SE since the glory days of the second-gen model from 2020, with rather more downs than ups. But now, based on a series of unexpectedly promising leaks, it looks like we might be headed for an uphill segment.

Earlier this month a Weibo account dropped some alluring details about the iPhone SE 4 that made it sound like the best $499 smartphone ever. Boasting a 6.1-inch OLED screen, Face ID, and an A16 processor, the new phone would represent a huge...

Macworld

You’ve spent hours working on an Excel workbook on a MacBook, but now it’s gone. Or, when you exit an Excel file, you unintentionally select “Don’t Save”. Is this to say that your entire effort has been in vain? This article systematically explains how to recover lost Excel files on a Mac. With our 4 methods, you can recover unsaved Excel files quickly.

After selecting the “Don’t Save” option or shutting down the MacBook without saving files, the Excel file vanishes on the Mac. Then, you should apply data recovery as quickly as possible; there is still a good chance you can recover your lost Excel document.

Method 1. Recover unsaved Excel files on a Mac with software

The most convenient method is to use professional Mac recovery software to restore the unsaved Excel files....

Macworld

Of the big Apple events of the year, WWDC is the most reliable: In each of the past 17 Junes, like clockwork, Apple has held a big get-together for its developer partners and announced a raft of important software updates. The September iPhone launch and the March/April spring event (which didn’t happen in 2023) seem almost unpredictable by comparison.

In this article, we list the major announcements (and some of the smaller titbits) you can expect to hear about at WWDC 2024. Some of these–updates to the five big Apple operating systems, most obviously–are as predictable as the timing of the event. But we reckon Apple will spring a few surprises this year.

Apple has announced that WWDC24 will be held from June 10-14.

When is WWDC 2024?

Apple will kick off WWDC24 with a keynote at...

Over the weekend, the first handheld console game emulator hit the App Store, following a relaxation in App Store Review Guidelines the week prior.

Fast forward 24 hours and the app is gone, pulled from the App Store. However, we aren’t sure why. It might be that ROM-loading emulators are actually not allowed, and this one slipped through. Or, it may be that iGBA was simply a clone of the open-source project GBA4iOS, and was pushed to the store without permission or appropriate licensing.

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Twitch Revealed New Features for Mods on iOS as It Celebrated Mod Appreciation Day

Twitch has introduced an important role of moderators on its platform, dedicating April 11th as Mod Appreciation Day. Moderators, identified by green swords in chat, are responsible for facilitating welcoming and safe communities by managing queues, answering viewer questions, and enforcing chat rules. Twitch encourages users and viewers to show appreciation. To do so, they […]

This post Twitch Revealed New Features for Mods on iOS as It Celebrated Mod Appreciation Day appeared first on The Mac Observer

Face ID Not Working For App Store: Here Are 6 Fixes

If Face ID isn’t working for App Store transactions, you’ll likely have to type your Apple ID password manually every time you download apps or pay subscription fees. It’s a minor hassle, but a hassle nonetheless. Fortunately, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to restore your iPhone’s facial recognition system. Let’s go through […]

This post Face ID Not Working For App Store: Here Are 6 Fixes appeared first on The Mac Observer

10 Ways to Fix an iPhone Alarm Not Going Off

The iPhone has replaced many of our everyday tools, like calendars, calculators, and, of course, clocks. Although convenient, this over-reliance also means a simple glitch could have greater consequences. A misconfigured alarm, for instance, could cause you to miss important meetings and events. That said, there are also several troubleshooting steps available—here’s what to do […]

This post 10 Ways to Fix an iPhone Alarm Not Going Off appeared first on The Mac Observer

Apple’s First AI Features Will Happen on Device

Rumors about Apple’s adoption of AI at WWDC continue to grow. Expectations are high, so new information is coming out all the time. Mark Gurman has leaked today that the first features to be announced by Apple will happen on the device itself. That is, there will be no processing on the company’s servers. According […]

This post Apple’s First AI Features Will Happen on Device appeared first on The Mac Observer

M4 Mac Roadmap Leaked: Here’s What We Know about Apple’s Next Big Thing

In 2020, Apple began its transition from Intel to Apple Silicon. Since then, the company has released three different generations: M1, M2, and M3. Each of them had different variations, but were a clear leap over Intel chips. Now Apple is already working on the M4, and its roadmap has been leaked. According to Bloomberg’s […]

This post M4 Mac Roadmap Leaked: Here’s What We Know about Apple’s Next Big Thing appeared first on The Mac Observer

Apple Keyboard Has a Weird Emoji Suggestion Problem

When Apple added an emoji search bar to the iMessages, it allowed you to quickly access a particular emoji from over 3,000 options. For instance, if you punch in ‘love’, it’ll show you heart emojis in many colors. Or if you type sad, it’ll show you the loudly crying face emoji.  However, when people are […]

This post Apple Keyboard Has a Weird Emoji Suggestion Problem appeared first on The Mac Observer

Apple changed the App Store rules last week to seemingly permit game emulators on the iPhone for the first time.

Following that policy change, the first emulator apps are now appearing on the store. iGBA is a free Game Boy game emulator for iPhone and iPad, which can indeed load and play ROMs downloaded to the device — a category of application that Apple would have unequivocally rejected a fortnight ago.

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Apple first introduced iCloud at WWDC 2011, with Steve Jobs touting it as the best way to store documents, mail, backups, and more in the cloud. One thing that has infamously stayed the same since that 2011 launch: Apple gives you just 5GB of iCloud storage for free.

Nearly 13 years later, how does iCloud’s free storage offer – and paid upgrade plans – compare to the competition?

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Adds support for selecting multiple noncontiguous portions of text to all three iWork apps. (Free, various sizes, macOS 13+)

Annoyed by several of his credit cards not showing up in 1Password’s autofill pop-up, Adam Engst spelunked through the card metadata and found the offending field.

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When Apple released macOS 14.4 back in March, they pulled the plug on support for several commands, including the important launchctl kickstart. This change broke support for Addigy’s MDM Watchdog, a tool designed to keep MDM and software...

Macworld

How do you get someplace you’ve never been? No trick question here — you need a map. It’s the same answer for if you’re trying to reach a goal or deal with complex data sets, but in that case, you need a diagram. Fortunately, Microsoft Visio Professional 2021 is the necessary tool for creating crisp, easy-to-understand visuals, and lifetime access is only $23.99 (reg. $249) with code ENJOY20 through April 16.

Whether you’re an architect or analyst, you can use Visio’s over 250,000 shapes and access...

With the launch of the M3 MacBook Pro last year, many reviewers and customers criticized the company for still selling premium computers with 8GB of RAM. At the time, Apple said that 8GB in a Mac is equivalent to having 16GB of RAM in a Windows PC. Now the company is again arguing in favor of selling Macs with 8GB of RAM in 2024.

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While the iPhone 16 garners most of the attention, Apple also has another new iPhone model in the works. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to be a dramatic update to Apple’s most affordable iPhone, with an all-new design, USB-C for charging, and more.

Here are four things to expect from the iPhone SE 4.

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Google is going ahead with a redesign that changes how you access the Bookmarks, Reading List, and History columns that appear to the right of your browser. The side panel button is now gone from desktop Chrome.

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After announcing its Matter LED Outdoor String Lights at CES, smart light pioneer Nanoleaf has officially launched the product. Here are all the details on these slick outdoor lights that offer IP65 weather resistance, color control, support across smart home platforms, and more.

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