Ryan Christoffel

iOS 18.4 arrived late last month packed with a variety of new features, including an upgrade you might have missed that provides a fast way to open your go-to conversations in the Messages app. Here’s how it works.

The behind the scenes journalistic recaps of Apple’s AI drama continues today at The New York Times. And in this latest report, blame for Apple’s struggles to compete in AI is assigned to a surprising source: Luca Maestri and budget.

It’s been a busy couple days for in-depth journalistic explorations of Apple’s recent Siri and AI struggles. Following yesterday’s The Information report, today The New York Times has its own deep dive. One of the biggest takeaways? Apple’s planning to launch its new iOS 19 Siri upgrades sooner than we expected.

This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: new iOS 19 leaks, iPad Fold on track for 2026, HomePad status update, and a special 20th anniversary iPhone Pro design. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

I used to change up task managers often, always looking for a new app that could make keeping up with todos just a little bit better. But for years now I’ve stuck with Apple’s Reminders app, and a tiny new iOS 18 feature has turned out to make a big difference for me.

For as long as the Apple Watch has existed, users have shared stories of the device offering life-saving aid. Recently, a couple especially powerful such stories have emerged. Yesterday we reported on a woman’s Apple Watch helping her catch cancer early. Now per a new video, the Apple Watch Ultra and Emergency SOS were involved in an ocean rescue in Australia.

Apple TV+ shows no signs of ending its current hot streak. Though the streamer has found success launching brand new series of late, Apple TV+ also announced today that two of its biggest existing hit shows are returning for new seasons this summer.

Today a revealing new look into Apple’s recent Siri struggles was published at The Information. That report contains myriad details on internal drama and conflicts, but it also ends with a big piece of news: under Craig Federighi’s leadership, for the first time Apple engineers can now use third-party LLMs to build Siri features.

Last month Apple experienced a major internal shake-up related to Siri, part of the fallout of its delayed Siri upgrades. An extensive new report at The Information provides the best look yet into the drama happening behind the scenes, and where things stand with Siri now.

It’s been a wild day for the global economy. Amid US tariff turmoil and reversals, the stock market went on quite the ride. After nearly a week of big losses, Apple stock rebounded significantly with more than 15% in gains—a result not only of the current tariff pause, but likely also exemption optimism thanks to new comments from President Trump.

Apple Notes has been on a tear over the last few years with big feature updates. While the app used to lag behind third-party alternatives, now it’s easily among the iPhone’s best notes options. Among the last couple years of updates, one powerful new feature that got overlooked by me is note links, but it’s recently made me rethink how I use Apple Notes.

Today was the first day that huge tariffs went into effect for most US imports, but it seems the impact will be short-lived—at least for many. President Trump has just enacted a 90-day pause on the most severe of the tariffs, with China a major exception. As a result, risk to Apple may be lessened, but they certainly aren’t in the clear.

Following Severance’s success, Apple TV+ has been rolling out compelling new shows one after another. And coming soon is Murderbot, a new sci-fi dark comedy that could be one of the best yet based on its just-released trailer.

Rumors about next year’s iPhone Fold have increased of late, but not much has been leaked about Apple’s other big foldable device in the works. Now, despite some reports stating a later timeline, a new analyst note says the 18.8-inch iPad ‘Fold’ is on track for a 2026 release.

Apple TV+ has been finding more mainstream success of late, fueled by the popularity of hits like Severance and The Studio. But there’s one demographic that, per a new survey, is not tuned in to TV+: teens.

Massive tariffs imposed by President Trump on the rest of the globe went into effect today. Amidst significant economic uncertainty, many are wondering what this means for the cost of goods in the US—including Apple’s products like the iPhone. One analyst lays out Apple’s tariff response options, and his belief that costs may not rise too badly for consumers.

Back in December, the iPhone gained a new Image Playground app powered by Apple Intelligence, and that app just got a welcome upgrade in iOS 18.4 thanks to a newly added feature for image creation.

Earlier this year, The Iconfactory launched a new social feeds app called Tapestry. The app pulls together Bluesky, Mastodon, and other feeds into a unified timeline. And Tapestry’s latest addition, Crosstalk, solves an especially annoying quirk of our fractured social app landscape: duplicate posts.

A new Pew survey provides a fascinating glimpse into how adults in the US are thinking about AI these days. The results are far more negative than you might have thought, which highlights a big AI opportunity for Apple.

The latest video from Jon Prosser offers easily the most extensive look yet at iOS 19’s rumored new design. And if the video’s mockups prove accurate come WWDC, it seems Apple may have found a winning formula to guides its design: striking a careful balance between fresh and familiar.

Apple just announced a line-up of five new games coming to Apple Arcade in the coming weeks, including WHAT THE CLASH?, a new party game from the team behind WHAT THE GOLF? and WHAT THE CAR?. Here’s what’s coming.