Worst & weirdest at CES 2025 — Robotic owls, phone toasters, & unnecessary AI
After a week of high-profile releases, CES 2025 is over and there was some awful stuff on display. Here's the worst and weirdest products at the show.
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Is Apple Vision Pro a 'first year flop' or tomorrow, today?
Critics are, as they do, having a field day preannouncing Apple's purported plans to "cancel" or "discontinue" the first iteration of its Apple Vision Pro Spatial Computing platform.
Daniel Eran Dilger
Kwikset Halo Select, Govee ice maker, & iPhone StandBy dock on HomeKit Insider
On this episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast we go over another new smart lock from Kwikset, talk about the viral iPhone StandBy dock, and test the Govee smart ice maker.
Andrew O'Hara
iPhone 16 sales banned in Indonesia until Apple invests more in the country
The iPhone 16 is not allowed to be sold in Indonesia, with the sales ban triggered by a lack of investment by Apple into the country.
Malcolm Owen
iPhone 16 demand remains in line with the iPhone 15
Investment bank JP Morgan says that demand for the iPhone 16 range is roughly the same as for the iPhone 15 in 2023, but shipping times for the Pro models are shrinking.
William Gallagher
2024 iPad mini teardown reveals minimal internal changes
A new teardown of the seventh-generation iPad mini has revealed very little in the way of changes, and no apparent physical change to reduce jelly scrolling despite evidence that the effect is minimized.
Charles Martin
Former employee thanks Apple for help evacuating family from Ukraine
A former Apple employee has publicly thanked the company and CEO Tim Cook for their assistance in helping employees and their families in the city of Kharkiv to evacuate when Russia's invasion of the country encroached on the northeastern Ukrainian city.
Crime blotter: NFL player robbed, SEC hacked, and iPhone thieves being arrested around the US
An SEC hack involved spoofing an iPhone, an NFL player's iPad is stolen from his car, and "porch pirates" are being caught.
Stephen Silver
M4 Mac mini and more expected for Apple's week of announcements
A new report claims that Apple's week of announcements will start with a 24-inch M4 iMac and two versions of a redesigned Mac mini. M4-powered versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro will also be unveiled.
Apple plans second iMac G4-like smart home device
Apple's rumored smart home display could arrive in two forms, with the robot arm version joined by another with an iMac-style base.
featured topics of the week
Entry-level iPad to be updated in early 2025
Following updates to the rest of the iPad lineup during 2024, the lowest-cost model is now expected to see a refresh in spring of 2025.
Month-end iPad sale: $199 9th Gen, M4 iPad Pro $899, iPad mini 7 deals
Amazon's weekend deals see price cuts on the brand-new iPad mini 7, along with discounts on the 10th Gen, M4 iPad Pro and 2024 iPad Air.
Christine McKee
YouTuber shows off hardware hack to replace soldered MacBook storage
A YouTube video shows off a newly-developed technique to replace the soldered-on storage modules on most modern MacBook Pro and other MacBook models — but the upgrade is impractical and costly to do.
Apple Intelligence Image Playground, Genmoji testers face long wait
Apple says it will be allowing access to forthcoming image-creation tools like Image Wand, Genmoji, and Image Playground "over the coming weeks," making for an unusually long waitlist for testers.
Judge awards Apple a token $250 in its latest lawsuit against Masimo
A Delaware jury has found smartwatch maker Masimo guilty of infringing Apple's Apple Watch patents on health technology, but limited it to only older smartwatch models that are no longer sold, and awarded the firm the least damages it legally could.
Apple News+ adds Sudoku to the puzzle collection in iOS 18.2
Apple has added sudoku to its collection of puzzles in Apple News+, giving another way for subscribers to test their brainpower every day.
Apple's M4 Mac event will be a week of daily press releases and I'm here for it
Apple has confirmed that it will announce new Macs during a week-long event starting October 28. It isn't the first time it's taken this route, and I'm absolutely here for it.
Oliver Haslam
Spatial content shot for Apple Vision Pro will soon be viewable in Safari
Safari will soon be able to show spatial photos and videos to Apple Vision Pro users, so this content captured on iPhone can now be shared beyond the Photos and third-party apps.
Wesley Hilliard
Apple trials app to manage a person's blood sugar levels
Apple is still working to help fight diabetes, with a report claiming it is internally testing an app to help people manage their blood sugar levels.
Amazon quietly launches $849 M3 MacBook Air deal
Amazon's latest MacBook Air discount drops the price of the current M3 model to just $849.99 with an on-page coupon.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was business-focused at an early age
Apple CEO Tim Cook was entrepreneurial from an early age, using money from a paper route to save toward his college education.
YouTuber made a Mac event video so Apple doesn't have to
Apple isn't going to have a launch video for its forthcoming Mac announcements, so YouTuber Jon Prosser has made one anyway.
Apple is the second-biggest smartphone seller in China
Sales of the iPhone are increasing in China, with Apple making a return to the country's top five smartphones thanks to the iPhone 16.
New Macs, new iOS 18.2, and debunked Apple rumors, on the AppleInsider Podcast
Apple has now promised us a week of what appears to be new Mac announcements, just as analysts start saying iPhone sales are failing, and Apple Intelligence is finally upon us.
How to banish annoyances in Safari with Distraction Control on Mac
Constant distractions on your Mac can derail productivity, but Apple's Distraction Control tool provide an easy way to stay focused and in control. Here's where to find it.
Andrew Orr
AirPods Pro 2 receive support for Hearing Health features with new firmware update
Apple has released a new firmware update for AirPods Pro 2, which ushers in support for an all-new set of Hearing Health features.
Marko Zivkovic
Apple offers Private Cloud Compute up for a security probe
Apple advised at launch that Private Cloud Compute's security will be inspectable by third parties. On Thursday, it fulfilled its promise.
Apple seeds second release candidate for macOS Sequoia 15.1
Apple has issued its second release candidate for macOS Sequoia 15.1, as the public release of the operating system update with Apple Intelligence grows nearer.
Apple is readied for an entire week of M4 Mac announcements
Apple will introduce a number of new products over Halloween week, with the focus being on new Mac updates with M4.
New feature allows children to report inappropriate content directly to Apple
A new feature rolled out as part of the iOS 18.2 beta allows children in Australia to report inappropriate content directly to Apple.
Amber Neely
Next iPad mini rumored to get OLED, but you'll have to wait a while
Apple's next iPad mini update will include OLED, but given Apple's typical lag between releases, that could be years away.
Apple Intelligence — The test applications that paved the way for Apple's generative AI
Apple Intelligence is the product of more than a year's worth of tireless testing. Here's what Apple engineers used to ensure the quality of their AI software.
Apple Watch display tech hints at iPhone ProMotion upgrade
Advanced LTPO technology in the Apple Watch Series 10 display differs from previous generations, and future iPhone releases may get the new display.
How to use the new text effects in Messages on iPhone with iOS 18
Apple's iOS 18 software update brought plenty of new features, including to the Messages app. The addition of cool new text effects gives iPhone owners new ways to communicate and they're surprisingly easy to use.
Wombat Willow Pro keyboard review: Maximum keys, minimum space
The Wombat Willow Pro provides a full mechanical keyboard with a shorter width than usual and even has low-profile switches. It's an interesting choice if you're prepared to learn a very unusual layout.
Apple Vision Pro guest mode may soon be controlled via iPhone
Code discovered in iOS 18.2 indicates that Apple Vision Pro owners may get to control guest mode via iPhone through a Live Activity session.
tvOS 18.1 receives second release candidate version two days after the first
Apple has issued a second release candidate build for tvOS 18.1, following the first release candidate deployed Monday.
Hands on with Image Playground, ChatGPT, and Genmoji in iOS 18.2
The first developer beta of iOS 18.2 includes several new Apple Intelligence features such as Image Playground, Genmoji, and ChatGPT integration. Here's how they work.
Lowest price ever: Apple's M2 MacBook Air drops to $699 while supplies last
Amazon has issued a record-breaking discount on Apple's M2 MacBook Air, dropping the price down to $699 while supplies last.
Apple's spring 2025 to be busy with M4 MacBook Air & iPad updates
A report suggests Apple's budget iPad and MacBook lines are set for updates in early 2025, and the Mac Studio won't get its M4 upgrade until the summer.
Iowa rolls out support for driver's licenses, IDs in Wallet app
Those living in the Hawkeye State can now add their driver's license or state ID to Apple Wallet for use at TSA checkpoints, venues, and businesses.
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