Siri has recently been attempting to describe images received in Messages when using CarPlay or the announce notifications feature. In typical Siri fashion, the feature is inconsistent and with mixed results.

Nevertheless, Apple forges ahead with the promise of AI. In a newly published research paper, Apple’s AI gurus describe a system in which Siri can do much more than try to recognize what’s in an image. The best part? It thinks one of its models for doing this benchmarks better than ChatGPT 4.0.

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Over the years, there have been a number of smartphones with built-in kick-stands. I always thought they were somewhat gimmicky. After spending some time various iPhone kick-stands, I am now in the “I wouldn’t hate an iPhone with a built-in stand. I’ve been testing the for the past week or two, and it’s great device to keep in your travel bag.

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Password managers like 1Password have long provided a deep set of features for creating, storing, and entering passwords and other confidential information. The iCloud Passwords extension for Chromium browsers makes Apple’s built-in password management features available outside Safari, but how do they compare to independent password managers?

A new rumor today reiterates the expectation that iOS 18 will be compatible with all the same devices as iOS 17. For iPadOS 18, however, Apple is planning to drop support for several older generation devices.

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Siri launched with the iPhone 4S in October 2011, replacing Voice Control with a more capable virtual assistant. A dozen years later, Siri has evolved into the primary way we interact with our Apple products.

Wait, no, I’m being told Siri sounds more natural but the core technology is roughly the same. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence now means generative AI and chat bots are based on large language models.

Siri and the rest of iOS 18 will join the AI revolution in June, ending our long national nightmare of Siri being somewhere between hot garbage and kinda useful sometimes. At least that’s what’s being reported, but we don’t really have a great sense of what to expect yet.

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During an analysis of various splinter samples of a noteworthy macOS stealer, security researchers at Moonlock discovered one with an alarming level of sophistication. Under the disguise of the unreleased video game GTA6, once installed, the malware executes rather clever techniques to extract sensitive information, such as passwords from a user’s local Keychain.

In typical Security Bite fashion, here’s the breakdown: how it works and how to stay safe.

9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege...

As WWDC 2024 approaches, Apple this week launched a new webpage with tutorials for developers learning the first steps on how to develop using Xcode, Swift, and Swift UI. Named “Develop in Swift Tutorials,” the webpage is now live with guides showing new developers how to install Xcode and start their first Swift project.

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Adds workarounds to address changes in macOS 14.4 Sonoma that broke File Provider support. ($49.99 new, free update, 100.1 MB, macOS 10.14+)

Wireless audio broadcasting app brings a new audio capture backend and a warning about updating. ($35 new, free update, 39.7 MB, macOS 14.4+)

Enlarge / The M2 iPad Pro. The updated version will come with refined designs and new accessories. (credit: Apple)

If you've been waiting for new iPads to come out, prepare to wait just a little longer: Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that redesigned iPad Pros with Apple's M3 chip, plus refreshed iPad Air models with the M2 and a larger-screened option, should now arrive sometime in "early May." Gurman had previously reported that new iPads could arrive in March or April, not long after the updated M3 MacBook Airs.

Gurman...

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Friday is here, and with it we are tracking some notable price drops on Apple gear as we head into the weekend. Joining a new Amazon all-time low on Apple’s 2024 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 starting from just over $1,200, we also have even lower prices on the latest M3 iMac. You can now score the 24-inch Apple desktop machine at $150 off the going rate, and be sure to scope out our exclusive discount down below on the new...

A recent report suggested we might be seeing some form of Apple Pencil for Vision Pro, and that idea appears to be supported by an Apple patent application published this week.

The lack of a physical surface to press against means that things like drawing and handwriting can be tougher in a virtual environment, and Apple describes a couple of interesting solutions to this …

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A new supply-chain report suggests that Apple is seeking to be an early player in what some believe will be the next big thing in chip development: printed circuit boards (PCBs) made from glass substrates.

While that might not sound exciting, it offers the prospect of an entirely new way of mounting and packaging chips, which could offer much better thermal performance, allowing processors to run at maximum power for longer periods …

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Now streaming on Apple TV+, the life and career of Steve Martin is profiled in a new documentary, which is unusually split into two feature-length parts …

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If you have an iPhone 12 and just upgraded to iOS 17.4.1, you can now use some of the additional charging speed that Qi2 wireless charging technology offers. Apple’s MagSafe first launched as a competitor to Qi charging with the iPhone 12 in 2020. Since then, a Qi2 standard has been released which is more […]

Source

• All the available Immersive Video launch content fit on a small strip in the TV app. [credit:
  Samuel Axon ]

Tonight, Apple will debut some new Immersive Video content for the Vision Pro headset—the first sports content for the device. It doesn't seem like much after two months of no new content, though.

Starting at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET, Vision Pro users will be able to watch a sports film captured for the platform's Immersive Video format. The video will be a series of highlights from last year's Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs, and according to Six Colors, it will run just five minutes. It will be free for all Vision Pro users.

On February 2...

If your car has factory-installed CarPlay or Android, then the wireless vehicle entertainment experts at Ottocast want to turbocharge your in-car entertainment.

For a limited time, 9to5Mac readers can take advantage of an exclusive 30% discount on some of Ottocast’s best CarPlay products by using code “TM30” at checkout.

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An anonymous reader writes: What if you could update the device while it's still in the box? That's the latest plan cooked up by Apple, which is close to rolling out a system that will let Apple Stores wirelessly update new iPhones while they're still in their boxes. The new system is called "Presto." French site iGeneration has the first picture of what this setup looks like. It starts with a clearly Apple-designed silver rack that holds iPhones and has a few lights on the front. The site (through translation) calls the device a "toaster," and yes, it looks like a toaster oven or food heating rack.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has been writing about whispers of this project for months, saying in one article that the device can "wirelessly turn on the iPhone, update its software and then power it back down -- all without the phone's packaging ever being opened." In another article, he wrote that the device uses "MagSafe and other wireless technologies." The iGeneration report...

Benjamin and Chance go deep on the Department of Justice vs. Apple suit, in which the DOJ alleges Apple’s iPhone monopoly is illegally maintained. In happier news, Apple announced the dates for WWDC 2024 where we expect to see major AI announcements as part of iOS 18, and much more.

And in Happy Hour Plus, we rank our favorite WWDC invite artwork from the last decade. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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The iPad Pro and iPad Air are set to get a refresh — but it doesn't look like either are going to arrive in April as previously thought.


iPad Pros
If you've been holding out for a new iPad Pro, you may not need to wait much longer. A new report suggests that the iPad Pro, along with the iPad Air, may be getting an update in May.

Sources told Bloomberg that the upcoming iPad Pro models will be equipped with brand-new OLED displays. These models have been given the codenames J717, J718, J720, and J721. Additionally, they will run on the new M3 chip and will be compatible with new versions of the...

Apple is planning to release its new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in “early May,” according to a new report from Bloomberg. The news comes as Apple’s “overseas suppliers have ramped up production” of the new devices.

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Apple is just months away from showing off its iOS 18 update that will arrive in the fall. This is what the rumor mill suspects is on the way in the next version of the iPhone operating system.


iPhone in a crystal ball
WWDC, Apple's annual gathering of developers that will take place from June 10 until June 14, is the venue for the tech giant to show off some of its future plans. The announcements during the keynote and throughout the week typically cover a lot of areas, but operating system changes are the main focus of proceedings.

With the iPhone being the main revenue generator for the company, Apple's changes to iOS are closely watched by developers and industry observers. The next version, destined to be called iOS 18 unless Apple makes a massive change to its naming system, will be just as...

Today, Apple is releasing its first ever sports film shot in Immersive Video format, which gives Apple Vision Pro users an engrossing 180-degree 3D video experience with Spatial Audio.

The short film features highlights from the 2023 Major League Soccer Cup playoffs. Apple Vision Pro owners can watch the film for free in the TV app, beginning at 6 PM Pacific Time today.

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A new lawsuit filed against gyroscope and accelerometer supplier for Apple, InvenSense, accuses the company of failing to tell investors about the concessions it made to secure a recent deal. InvenSense parts are used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus; executives should have warned investors, the suit alleges, that Apple was given a "sweetheart deal" that would hurt profits. "Instead of revealing the true condition of the company and its prospects, defendants hid those facts from investors and chose to issue strong guidance and paint a picture of a bright future with a new mega-customer," the complai...

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A new port of AllCast, a popular Android app, has just been released for iOS. The title lets users stream personal photo, video, and music libraries to a variety of platforms, not just the Apple TV, the only format natively supported by Apple. Some compatible targets include Chrome, Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, WDTV, Xbox One/Xbox 360, and various platforms compatible with DLNA....

Taiwan-based supplier Quanta Computer has entered into "volume" production of Apple's upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air, according to supply chain sources. The laptop is reportedly on track to ship in the first quarter of the year, despite other rumors pointing to the second quarter. The new sources say that Quanta has escalated recruitment efforts in order to speed up production....

Facebook will start to post into its users News Feed alerts about missing children in the future, in an effort to locate them. A partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will involve the social network showing Amber Alerts to Facebook users located in specific search areas, both on mobile devices and desktops....

Apple appears to have ended its Single of the Week promotion on iTunes, visitors note. No tracks have been offered in the first two weeks of 2015, and a person on Apple's support forums claims to have been told by iTunes Support that the company has officially dropped the initiative. It's missing from iTunes Stores across the globe....

It's a fact that Spanish is the world's fourth most spoken language, with over 350 million native speakers across 21 countries. It's also a fact that people who are bilingual tend to do better in both academic pursuits as well as their career. If you've ever been curious about learning another language, Learn Spanish by Brainscape offers a solution for those who are trying to learn Spanish on the go....

Flickr has updated statistics for 2014 in its "Most Popular Camera" and "Most Popular Mobile Camera" categories, with the combined models of iPhone taking second place in the general "camera" category -- beating out DSLR maker Nikon and popular point-and-shoot maker Sony for second place. While Canon remains the most popular overall camera, the built-in cameras on smartphones from Apple and Samsung have -- despite inherent limitations -- steadily risen in popularity....

New information has been revealed on the specifications Apple has in mind for its planned licensing of the female Lightning port for third-party accessories. Manufacturers have reportedly been briefed on details and objectives, which include spreading Lightning to as many different accessories as possible in place of micro-USB. Possibilities include not just things like docks and headphones, but battery cases, gamepads, and Bluetooth speakers....

Word games are fairly numerous at this point. You've got your Boggle-style games, your Scrabble-style games, your crosswords and word searches. There are a lot of duplicates out there -- so when we find a fresh, new game, we tend to get pretty excited. One such app is Word of the Rings, by James Porter, a game that quite literally puts an interesting twist on the genre....

Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket have announced a new iBeacon platform, the first to emphasize the Apple Watch. The plan is to use iBeacons at Marsh's 75 locations to push ads, shopping lists, and other content to both Watches and iPhones. Initially, the platform will support the official Marsh app and inMarket's List Ease, but other apps should follow as long as they support inMarket's Proximity SDK. All apps will have to update with Watch support, but the platform itself is Watch-ready....

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People wanting to control HomeKit-enabled devices remotely through Apple's Siri must have an Apple TV at home to serve as a hub, according to Verge sources, including two launch partners and a person said to be "close to HomeKit's development." Siri controls will always work while an iPhone or iPad is on the same network as a HomeKit device, but until now it wasn't fully clear how remote operation might work. The Apple TV must also be a third-generation model running at least v7.0 firmware or newer. Notably, remote operation without Siri -- using the vendor app for a HomeKit product directly -...

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You could just look out of your window, of course, but Weather Wall aims to set your wallpaper to an image that's right for the weather where you are. But if you ever had views like these from your office window, you would not stay sitting at your desk. These wallpaper shots are simply beautiful....