Spotify is cranking up the volume, err, subscription price, for the second time in a year. Whether it’s to cover the increased cost of licensing music or to fund future complaints against Apple, Spotify will start charging subscribers $1 to $2 more per month, depending on their plan.
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Update: We’re told May 2 is the release date for Beats Solo4 headphones. Early May sounds busy. No word on when this guy makes a come back.
It’s been a few days since Apple announced new Beats Solo headphones. 2,764 days and counting to be exact. The day counter is clearly about to reset, however, as more and more signs point to Beats Solo4 hardware launching soon.
The clearest sign yet? 9to5Mac has exclusively received the full rundown on Beats Solo4 specs from trusted sources. The TL;DR is this: Beats is about to deliver a big upgrade to the on-ear headphones for the same price as their predecessors from 2016. That translates to a great value in 2024 dollars, plus they’re USB-C. Here’s what we’re told to expect from Beats Solo4 headphones…
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It feels like just yesterday when Apple continued to sell 2017’s Apple Watch Series 3 despite it not receiving an already announced watchOS update. Fortunately, Apple hasn’t repeated that mistake again. Instead, we’re merely looking at the successor to that Apple Watch potentially missing support for the next major watchOS release.
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Nothing makes me feel more like Zion Williamson than shooting hoops at the arcade. And while I’d love to take arcade basketball home with me, I’m not sure that’s the best investment. Fortunately, Apple Vision Pro has quickly become the best way to turn any space into an arcade basketball arena.
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Update: MacRumors has updated its piece with this: “We’ve received information from several sources indicating that the image is fake.”
Apple Vision Pro’s greatest contribution to humankind in year one may just be inspiring the iOS 18 redesign everyone wants. Our friends at MacRumors have published what they describe as an “iPhone frame template from an anonymous source who claims they obtained it from an iOS engineer.” It could be nothing, or it could be the first glimpse at a return to realism in iPhone software design.
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Want to be featured on the App Store? Develop a new feature that uses Apple’s latest technologies. Looking for a similar featured spot on Apple Podcasts? Consider charging listeners for your podcast.
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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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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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In this episode of Visioneers, Zac Hall of 9to5Mac sits down with Geert Bevin, the Director of Software Development at Moog Music, for an insightful conversation. Together, they delve into the fascinating world of music technology, focusing on Moog Music’s latest creation, Animoog Galaxy for Apple Vision Pro. Additionally, Bevin sheds light on his innovative app, MIDI Widgets; his history with computers and music creation; and how Apple Vision Pro is meshing with work life and leisure so far.
Update, March 27: In an email, Apple confirmed that these three games will launch on Apple Arcade on March 28.
Apple Arcade brings high quality games to Apple Vision Pro on day one. Apple highlights that over 250 titles are available with 12 specifically designed for a spatial experience on visionOS. Apple Vision Pro will soon gain three more games through Arcade including Spire Blast in spatial.
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A pair of iPhone 16 Pro rumors have surfaced overnight, giving us a possible preview of what’s to come this fall. The first is a new look at what may be the iPhone 16 Pro color lineup.
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Spring cleaning continues at Apple. Per Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple no longer plans to design and produce its own displays for the Apple Watch. Apple has reportedly been investigating moving from OLED to custom microLED screens dates since at least 2016.
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Apple has responded to the Department of Justice lawsuit that has been expected for some time now. In the statement, Apple says the lawsuit threatens its identity and it will vigorously defend itself from it:
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Apple recently released visionOS 1.1, bringing higher quality Persona avatars and enterprise support to Apple Vision Pro. The software update also introduces support for a significant advancement in immersive web experiences.
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The 2018 iPad Pro deserves a prominent spot in the Apple hardware hall-of-fame. No other product from Apple has remained so functional for so long without appearing long in the tooth. The 11-inch 2018 iPad Pro, specifically, has held up extraordinarily well for a product from over five years ago.
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Anyone ready for new iPads? New iPad Air and iPad Pro hardware is expected to be unveiled any day now. This includes a more affordable 12.9-inch display with the iPad Air expected to add a larger option. We also expect to see the first iPads OLED screen technology to deliver deeper black levels like the iPhone and Apple Watch.
A new report from DSCC may add color on when to expect new iPads to ship. The analyst firm also gives us an idea of what to expect with the iPad Pro supply mix at launch.
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Apple has been forced by the EU to allow app purchases and installs without the App Store. The effort to enable the capabilities as securely as possible has been massive. The details continue to evolve based on developer arms regulatory feedback, and many more changes for EU customers are planned over the next year. Still, Apple continues to express concern that the Digital Markets Act that enforces all these changes could come at a cost.
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You may recall the recently announced but unnamed sports streaming service from ESPN, Warner Brothers, and Fox. It turns out a former Apple sports deal maker will run the bundle.
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Apple is moving on from a class action lawsuit that claimed CEO Tim Cook defrauded investors in 2019. The cost of doing business is just $490 million for Apple, according to a settlement that will have to be approved by the court.
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iOS 17.4 introduces the ability to assign languages to Siri specifically for when it reads your messages to you. Languages can be different than the assigned language used for Siri for all other tasks. This is useful for when you primarily use Siri in one language, but you chat with people using other languages.
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After a whirlwind of events, Epic Games says Apple has reinstated their App Store developer account. The move clears the way for Epic to bring its Epic Games Store to the EU, avoiding the App Store structure altogether. The turnaround is somewhat unexpected as Apple seemed to stand by its decision to revoke Epic’s developer account on Wednesday.
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iPhone 16 Pro is still half a year away, but we already have some ideas of what to expect. 91mobiles, which often publishes accurate design files of unannounced Apple products, adds to the knowledge base with a new set of iPhone 16 Pro CAD files.
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The idea of outright banning TikTok in the United States has been debated in Washington for several years now. The possibility is all the more likely today as lawmakers in the House of Representatives have voted to advance a TikTok ban bill.
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In addition to iOS 17.4 and visionOS 1.1 this week, Apple has updated the Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod. Today’s release includes macOS Sonoma 14.4, tvOS 17.4, watchOS 10.4, and the HomePod 17.4 software update.
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