Apple has dabbled in audio transcription in the past with mixed success. One shining example lately has been Apple Podcasts transcripts; more pessimistically, voicemail transcripts are still subpar. But according to a new report, the upcoming iOS 18 release will unlock a host of new system-wide audio transcription and summary features, all powered by AI.

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I’m on record as saying that I think Vision Pro is mostly a stepping-stone toward an eventual Apple Glasses product, and that I think those are still years away yet.

I feel like current glasses tech is giving us these partial peeks into that future. Viture One XR glasses provide one potential take, and the Ray-Ban Meta glasses another – and perhaps suggesting the future may be closer than I thought …

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Macworld

The new M2 iPad Air has arrived, but unless you’re planning on buying the 13-inch model, it’s not very different than the M1. And today you can save a bundle on an old one: Amazon is slashing prices of the M1 iPad Air to $449 (64GB) and $599 (256GB) in all colors, a savings of $150 and the best price we’ve ever seen.

The iPad Air is a fantastic tablet, with a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, a super-powerful M1...

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating
Pros

• Internal battery
• Protective case
• More efficient than a wireless power bank
• Slimmer than rival battery cases

Cons

• Battery offers less power than rivals
• More expensive than rivals

Our Verdict

The Mophie Juice Pack battery case provides 50% back-up power and protection for the iPhone 15. The internal 2,400mAh battery is one of the lowest-capacity options but the benefit of this is a much-reduced hump at the back of the slim case, in comparison to bulkier 5000mAh capacity battery cases.

Price When Reviewed

$99.95

Best Prices Today: Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 15

Retailer

Price

Zagg

$99.95

...

Macworld

Apple’s AirPods wireless headphones offer an iconic look, exceptional convenience, and strong audio quality. They come with a premium price tag, however, so it’s important to shop around for a good deal… or find a bunch of tech experts who’ll do this for you. That’s where we come in.

In this article, we round up the best AirPods discounts and bundle deals to help you save money. We’ve got the best prices on the 3rd-gen AirPods that were released in October 2021, the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro that launched in September 2022 as well as the updated 2nd-gen AirPods Pro with USB-C that launched in September 2023, and the premium...

Macworld

After a long process of YouTube video downloading, it will be quite annoying to see a warning that the downloaded file format is not compatible with your Mac computer. When encountering this situation, you always need to download YouTube videos directly in a supported format.

When you download videos from YouTube, you will find that the suffix of the video file is not the common MOV, MKV, or MP4, which is quite annoying if you want to open it on a new Mac computer. That’s because YouTube will recode the video file to avoid users downloading the original MP4 file out of copyright consideration. But it’s legal for you to try a converter and convert YouTube videos to MP4 on Mac computers.

MP4...

We learned late last year that a Microsoft iOS app store was in the works, and the company has now announced that this will launch in July.

Initially, it will be limited to Microsoft’s own games, but will later open up to other iPhone game developers, giving them an alternative outlet to Apple’s official App Store …

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The next version of macOS Sonoma just hit release candidate status and a decently sized update is en route. Following release candidate versions of iOS, iPadOS, and other operating systems going public this week, Apple has sent its macOS Sonoma 14.5 release candidate out to its developer community for testing. The change list goes as […]

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Macworld

STORI AI is an all-in-one brand automation platform that streamlines your marketing workload. Save time quickly generating content, and save money by doing it all with a 5-year Essential Subscription for only $149.99 (reg. $1,200). 

Simplify your marketing tasks with a suite of automated branding tools. STORI AI can suggest colors and logos, and even generate mission statements and values. You can even invite other team members through STORI to collaborate with you and the AI. 

If you need to create visual content, ...

Macworld

When your Mac starts acting up, you’ll probably run through some common troubleshooting procedures, such as restarting it, running Disk Utility, and perhaps performing a Safe Boot. Your repair repertoire should also include a couple of additional procedures that can occasionally eliminate otherwise inscrutable problems—zapping the NVRAM and resetting the SMC.

The procedures here apply to Intel-based Macs. M-Series Macs don’t have a procedure for zapping the NVRAM, and they don’t have an SMC. For M1-Series Macs, try shutting down the computer, waiting for several seconds, and then boot it.

What is PRAM?

Back in the day, the standard list of quick fixes for random Mac ailments always included clearing the PRAM. The P in PRAM stood for “parameter” (the RAM was just RAM—random access memory), and it referred to a small amount of special, battery-backed memory in every Mac that stored information the computer...

WhatsApp on Thursday announced that it is officially releasing an update that introduces a refreshed design for both iOS and Android apps. Users will notice a new color palette and other changes that make the experience of using WhatsApp on both platforms more seamless.

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One of the biggest highlights of the is the OLED display for the first time on an iPad. Although the technology has been around for a while in the iPhone and Apple Watch, previous iPads were all equipped with LCD (or mini-LED) displays. However, despite having an OLED panel with a variable refresh rate, the M4 iPad Pro still lacks an always-on display like the latest iPhones.

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Macworld

During Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad event on Tuesday, the company unveiled a new ad for the iPad Pro, as it often does during these events. The ad, named “Crush!,” depicts a massive hydraulic press filled with creative implements: multiple musical instruments, paints, TVs, and old arcade game, music mixing equipment, and more. Accompanied by “All I Ever Need is You” by Sonny & Cher, the press crushes all these artistic and entertainment implements, then pulls up to reveal the iPad Pro.

The ad premiered on social media, and is still up on YouTube, which you can watch here:

It was meant to invoke the idea that all this creative and entertainment stuff now fits into a super-thin iPad Pro, but it was some received it very differently. Seeing all the tools of creative professionals literally destroyed and replaced by a gadget struck the wrong chord with Apple’s indispensable market of creatives.

Several...

How To Fix Magic Keyboard Not Connecting to Mac or iPad

Considering that Apple boasts about how easy it is to connect a Magic Keyboard to your Mac or iPad, pairing errors can feel especially frustrating. Don’t worry though, it’s often easy to troubleshoot these and get your wireless keyboard up and running fast. Let’s go through some solutions that address the most common causes behind […]

This post How To Fix Magic Keyboard Not Connecting to Mac or iPad appeared first on The Mac Observer

The 2024 iPad Pro levels up performance as the first Apple device with the M4 chip. And the new mid-tier Apple tablet is the M2 iPad Air which comes in two sizes for the first time. So what is all different between these 2024 iPads and is the high-end worth the extra money? Here’s our detailed look at the M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air.

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Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by iMazing 3: The world’s most trusted tool to manage Apple devices and transfer data from a Mac or PC. Redesigned for the future. 

...

Macworld

A new Bloomberg report details a project code-named ACDC, for Apple Chips in Data Centers, in which Apple will use its own silicon to provide cloud AI services. Apple is going big on AI with iOS 18 and macOS 15, and while on-device processing will be a big differentiator for the company, more advanced tasks will require the resources of big server infrastructure.

According to the report, the plan to use Apple’s own chips for cloud infrastructure began three years ago but has been accelerated due to the need to quickly bring to market advanced AI features. The first AI server chips will be M2 Ultra processors, it says, but there are already plans to...

Top 8 GPTs To Use With Your ChatGPT Plus Subscription

I’ve been using ChatGPT since it launched in November 2022. The sophistication of its large language model (LLM) and natural language processing (NLP) system piqued my curiosity. After a while, however, I realized that the free version of ChatGPT wasn’t all that impressive because of its knowledge cutoff date and limited features. So, I decided […]

This post Top 8 GPTs To Use With Your ChatGPT Plus Subscription appeared first on The Mac Observer

Apple’s “Let loose” special event this week was shot on iPhone, much like last October’s “Scary fast” event. This time around, however, Apple appears to have gotten some help by attaching additional lenses to the iPhones.

Apple has confirmed to Stu Maschwitz that this week’s event was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max, with lenses from Panavision attached for certain scenes.

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With 48 individual iPad configurations available from Apple, there are more choices in the lineup than ever. When simplified, though, the iPad line is divided into four models: iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. As Logan Spurgeon points out, however, there’s one thing Apple could do to really bring clarity to the iPad line.

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Benjamin and Chance react to all the announcements out of the spring ‘Let Loose’ event, including the radically thin new iPad Pro, the new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air lineup, what to expect from the M4 chip, and how the event compared to their expectations going in overall.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin and Chance reflect on how they feel the video event format is performing for Apple, and whether it makes sense for the company to return to the live keynote style, sometimes. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

• Sponsored by Shopify: Grow your business no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a $1 per month trial at shopify...

Coming on the heels of a Wall Street Journal report that Apple was developing its own chips geared toward powering AI-focused data centers, today Mark Gurman at Bloomberg effectively confirmed the report while adding new details of his own.

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Macworld

If it seems like everyone has a pair of AirPods except you, there’s never been a time to try them out: Amazon is selling the 2nd-generation AirPods for a penny under $80 today, a savings of $59 a the lowest price we’ve ever seen.

These AirPods are the same model that came out in 2019, but they’re still a fantastic set of earbuds. They don’t have Apple’s newest design or features in the 3rd-gen model, but they’ve got everything you want in a pair of buds: fantastic battery life, seamless setup, hands-free Siri, on-device controls, and super-low latency thanks to Apple’s H1 chip. And of course, you’re getting the iconic AirPods design and crisp, clear audio....

What does Apple Vision Pro actually do? It turns out the answer is a lot. While this is not a comprehensive list of every visionOS app, these are some of the many great experiences possible on Apple Vision Pro!

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Apple Music today launched new Shazam-powered playlists that track what is being played the most across terrestrial broadcast radio stations. The Radio Spins charts are also available on the Shazam website.

Using their music recognition technology, Shazam is now logging what songs are being played on tens of thousands of radio stations worldwide, to help users discover more insights about what music is trending globally.

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Top iPad Pro M4 Case for Style and Durability

The M4 iPad Pro is Apple’s thinnest gadget to date, making it even easier to use and carry around places. However, you’ll also want to prevent accidental damage (e.g., dings, dents, and scratches) by getting yourself a sturdy case. Apple has released its own set, but you’ll find plenty of others if you want to […]

This post Top iPad Pro M4 Case for Style and Durability appeared first on The Mac Observer

Best iPad Air 13-Inch Cases For Protection and Value

The new iPad Air will finally come in a 13-inch model, which means this is also the first time that Apple is releasing 13-inch cases for this series. While some may prefer to keep their iPad naked, having a good case can save you from a lot of accidental damages, e.g., dings, dents, and scratches. […]

This post Best iPad Air 13-Inch Cases For Protection and Value appeared first on The Mac Observer

There’s been much debate on whether playing video games has a positive or negative impact on kids – and now teen gamers themselves have weighed-in.

A new large-scale survey of US teens found that around 40% of them played every day – with smartphones almost as popular a gaming device as consoles – and reported a mixed impact on their life …

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Version 2.7 of the t:connect iOS app – which is used to control delivery of insulin by the t:slim X2 pump – has been urgently recalled by the FDA.

The FDA issued a Class I recall, which is reserved for products likely to cause “serious adverse health consequences or death” …

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Macworld

Well, that was fast.

The M3 chip, introduced last October, is already yesterday’s news. We’re living in an M4 world, courtesy of the surprising announcement that the new iPad Pro is powered by Apple’s next generation of chips.

Even if you don’t care about iPads, this announcement will affect the trajectory of the Mac and iPhone in quite a few ways.

The first question to answer is: why so soon? The iPhone gets a new chip generation once a year, when the new iPhones arrive. Apple likely wants...

Macworld

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996 one of the first things he did was drastically streamline the company’s product portfolio. Slashing over 70 percent of the company’s products, everything was focused on a simple 2×2 grid: pro/consumer on one axis, desktop/portable on the other. Among other things, he argued that if consumers don’t know which product to buy, there are too many products.

Obviously, Apple is in a very different place today. It’s many times larger and competes in many more markets (both product markets and territorial markets). While it’s arguable that Apple makes too many products today, one could scarcely argue that it has too many Apple Pencils. There are four. Four!

Apple Pencil (x4)

It wouldn’t be crazy to suggest that Apple doesn’t even need to be the one making styluses for its tablets—just build the frameworks and let the accessory makers take care of it. But it’s hard...

If you were dreaming of Baldur’s Gate 3 hitting the iPad following a rumor that this port was en route, it won’t be happening. While Apple has recently gone out of its way to attract AAA game developers to its Mac, iOS, and iPadOS platforms, going so far as to develop a game porting kit […]

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Macworld

The first thing an entrepreneur learns is the importance of social media for marketing. The second thing they learn is how time-consuming that can be, but UNUM Pro is an tool that lets you plan your posts and helps increase engagement with a fraction of the drudge work.

Social media managers are nothing new, but UNUM offers several advantages over comparable services like Planoly or Later. For one thing, there are no monthly fees for the Pro Plan — just a single $49.99 payment for a lifetime of...

Macworld

The drought is finally over! Apple has announced new iPad Pros, new iPad Airs, the Apple Pencil Pro, and more! We talk about the latest Apple product announcements in this episode of the Macworld Podcast.

This is episode 883 with Jason Cross, Michael Simon, and Roman Loyola. 

Listen to episode 883 on Apple Podcasts

Listen to episode 883 on Spotify

Get info 

Click on the links below for more information on what was discussed on the show. 

• Everything Apple announced...

Alleged M4 Chip Benchmarks Tip the Scales Against M2 and M3

The new iPad Pros stole the spotlight during the “Let Loose” event. They pack several improvements over their predecessors, including a tandem OLED screen, and an M4 chip (skipping M3), and is the thinnest Apple product ever.  One thing that is still unknown about the M4 chip is how well it stacks up against its predecessor, the M2 […]

This post Alleged M4 Chip Benchmarks Tip the Scales Against M2 and M3 appeared first on The Mac Observer

Following the announcement of new iPads on Tuesday, Logitech today announced a new version of its popular Combo Touch keyboard case for the latest and M4 iPad Pro. The accessory works as a great alternative to Apple’s Magic Keyboard, as it also features a full-size keyboard and multi-touch trackpad.

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A new report from Bloomberg today gives an in-depth look at who could replace Tim Cook as Apple’s CEO, who has held the title since 2011 and turns 64 this year. While the report says there’s “no reason to assume that a change at the helm is imminent,” there are multiple possibilities as to who code eventually take over.

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Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by iMazing 3: The world’s most trusted tool to manage Apple devices and transfer data from a Mac or PC. Redesigned for the future. 

...

Developer LateNiteSoft launched its pro photography app for iPhone in 2023 called Photon Camera and has been upgrading it regularly. Now a new companion app has arrived for professionals who want a seamless solution for image display and management.

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It’s been nearly five years since the Apple Card first debuted as an iPhone-exclusive credit card option from Apple. Early adopters of the Apple Card were recently notified that their titanium physical card would soon be replaced due to its expiration date drawing near.

Users have now started to receive their replacement Apple Cards, and with them, a surprising addition to the packaging: a prepaid envelope to send your old titanium card back to Apple.

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More functionality for Vision Pro has landed with two new third-party app updates. The popular Duet Display and Screens are both now available for Apple’s headset. Here are all the details and features.

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Yesterday Apple unveiled the next generation of the iPad Pro, a major update including an M4 chip, OLED-powered Ultra Retina XDR display, ultra-thin industrial design, and more.

In the last couple generations of iPad Pro, there was a key difference between the 11-inch and 13-inch models that many shoppers didn’t know about. The larger model came with significantly better display technology than its smaller sibling. That’s changed with the M4 iPad Pro, with Apple giving both models with the same top-tier Ultra Retina XDR.

However, while it was not announced in the keynote, Apple is nonetheless shipping two very different tiers of M4 iPad Pro. This time around, the differences aren’t tied to the display. Rather, there are significant, unadvertised changes that will come depending on the storage option you choose.

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CIRP is out with a new report today focused on the sales patterns of iPhone buyers when it comes to storage tiers. They highlight how storage tiers have become a major way for Apple to increase its profit line for each new iPhone sold, as the iPhone’s margins get increasingly better when storage is upgraded.

According to CIRP’s findings, almost half of iPhone buyers opt to upgrade the storage on their device. And this trend skews even higher, reaching over 50%, when considering the iPhone 15 lineup in isolation.

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Apple has launched the 2024 iPad Air with an upgraded M2 chip, a larger 13-inch version joining the 11-inch model, Apple Pencil Pro compatibility, and more. Join along for everything that’s new and improved for the M2 iPad Air vs M1 iPad Air.

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Apple Pencil Pro Packaging Arrives in Five Different Flavors

Apple finally added the “Pro” suffix to its line of Apple Pencils. It was surprising because there weren’t many rumors about the Apple Pencil Pro until someone caught the references about the device on Apple’s Japan website. And now, Apple Pencil Pro is finally here. There’s a separate article on how the new Apple Pencil Pro performs and what it offers, which […]

This post Apple Pencil Pro Packaging Arrives in Five Different Flavors appeared first on The Mac Observer

Macworld

If you spend hours typing each day, it’s important to find the keyboard that suits your needs – whether that’s a mechanical keyboard that provides satisfying tactile feedback or a keyboard packed with media controls and macOS shortcuts. There are plenty of options to choose from, and here we look at some of the best keyboards for Mac to help you decide.

We have all sorts of Mac keyboards in this round-up, including Apple’s 2021 Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and the cheaper, and still-on-sale, Magic Keyboard. We have some wired keyboards (for those fed up with searching for new batteries every few weeks) as well as ergonomic solutions to help you avoid RSI, the best gaming keyboards for Mac, and some pretty stylish offerings that give Apple a run for its money.

And, talking of money, there are quality Mac-ready keyboards out there that cost a lot less than Apple’s – and do more too.

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Today the Walt Disney Company announced it would be launching its “first-ever interactive Disney+ Original story coming exclusively to Apple Vision Pro.”

What If…? An Immersive Story is described as a new app for Vision Pro that will enable an interactive mix of immersion, video, storytelling, and more. The app will connect to the Disney+ series, Marvel’s What If…?

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Less than 24 hours after Apple held a special event to unveil the new, record-thin (0.20 inch, the thinnest Apple device yet) iPad Pro with M4 chip inside, which the company says is optimized for AI, it is facing a loud and fast-spreading public backlash to one of its new marquee video advertisements promoting the device -- a spot called "Crush." VentureBeat: The video features a giant, industrial hydraulic press machine -- a device category famous for appearing in viral videos over the last decade-and-a-half -- literally pressing down upon and destroying dozens of other objects and creative instruments, from trumpets to cans of paint. The ad concludes with the press lifting to reveal these objects have somehow been transformed into a new iPad Pro. The metaphor and messaging is pretty obvious: the iPad Pro can subsume and replace all these older legacy instruments and technologies inside of it, and all in a more portable, sleek, and more powerful form factor than ever before....