MacRumors

Apple Podcasts, once the dominant platform for podcast listening, is experiencing a significant decline in popularity as competitors like YouTube and Spotify gain ground, according to a recent study by Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.

"Podcast" is a portmanteau of "iPod" and "broadcast," indicating the format's indebtedness to Apple. However, the study reveals that the podcast landscape has changed dramatically since the company first popularized the medium in 2005 with the release of iTunes 4.9. YouTube is now the most popular platform for podcast consumption in the United States, with 31% of respondents reporting it as their primary choice. Spotify follows at 21%, while ‌Apple Podcasts‌ has dropped to third place with only 12% of the market share.

This is in stark contrast to Apple's position just a few years ago. In July 2019, 29% of weekly podcast listeners primarily used ‌Apple Podcasts‌. Several factors appear to be contributing to ‌Apple Podcasts‌' waning popularity. ‌Apple Podcasts‌ didn't generate direct revenue for the company until recently, when in 2021 it introduced podcast subscriptions, of which Apple takes a cut.

Additionally, ‌Apple Podcasts‌ was historically not available on Android or Windows devices, limiting its reach, although the launch earlier this week of an Apple Podcasts web app may go some way to mitigate this issue.

The rising popularity of video podcasts has also given platforms like YouTube a significant advantage, while ‌Apple Podcasts‌ has shown no willingness to push video at all. Indeed, it's unclear whether the company is working on any major updates or features to compete more effectively with the more visual take on the medium offered by YouTube and Spotify.

Despite the decline, ‌Apple Podcasts‌ still has the advantage of coming pre-installed on all Apple devices, giving it a large potential user base. However, Apple may need to rethink its strategy by emphasizing video podcast content, adding more monetization options for podcasters, and attracting new and younger listeners to the platform.

In iOS 18, Apple's Podcasts app now shows chapter segments of a podcast when you scrub through a currently playing episode, making it easier to browse through the audio content, but there are no major new podcast features in the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system.

Google Maps is rolling out a redesigned bottom bar to iPhones that aims to give the app a less cluttered look by reducing the number of tabs on the screen.

Previously only on Android, the new bottom bar reduces the number of tabs from five to three. As spotted by 9to5Google, "Go" has been removed, but users can still access it using a new "You" middle tab, via a new "Saved trips" section therein.

"You" was previously called "Saved," and retains the same bookmark icon. But tapping it takes you to an updated page with new top tabs for "Notifications" and "Messages," both of which serve content that was previously found in the "Updates" tab, now removed. That leaves "Contribute" as the last tab of the three on the main maps screen.

• Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: Which Is Better?

The rollout is occurring in version 6.129.1 of Google Maps. If you've updated and don't see the new bottom bar, try force-quitting the app via the app switcher screen and then re-open it, which worked for us.

Instagram has announced a new feature that allows users to add a song to their profile, an update that harks back to Myspace in the early 2000s.

Added music appears in the bio area of a user's profile. Unlike Myspace, the songs don't autoplay when someone visits a user's profile. Visitors can play and pause the song - or song sample, since the duration of the music is capped at 30 seconds.

"We're excited to announce that you can now add a song to your profile, giving you more ways to express yourself through music," Instagram said in a post from its creators account. "Your profile song selection will be live until you swap out the song."

To add a song, users need to go to the "edit profile" page and select "Add music to your profile," where they can search for and select a track from Instagram's library of licensed music (the same music that can be used in Reels or posts).

The new feature is being launched in collaboration with singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose profile features a teaser of her new song, "Taste," ahead of its official release later this week.

The Phone app doesn't often get updated, but with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, it's getting a major overhaul that includes one of the best new features in the ‌iOS 18‌ software.

This guide highlights everything new with the Phone app.

Record Phone Calls

After placing or answering a call on an iPhone running iOS 18.1, you can initiate a recording that gives you an audio copy of the call.

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Make a call.
3. Tap on the record button in the top left corner to start a recording.

When you tap on the record button, everyone on the call is informed that the call is being recorded through an audible message. The message repeats for each person that is recording, so if two ‌iPhone‌ users are on a call and both record, the message will play twice.

There is no confirmation dialogue when a call is being recorded, so someone who does not want to be recorded would need to hang up the call as there is no opt out.

While the call is in progress, audio is recorded and saved to the Notes app for later access. When you open up the Notes app, you'll see a Call Recording labeled with the date and the time with an option to tap on Play to repeat the call or to tap into the note for more information.

Transcribe and Summarize Phone Calls

Calls that are saved in the Notes app are automatically transcribed, so you can see a full transcription of what was said on the call. You can get to a transcription by tapping into a Call Recording note.

As you listen to the call, the transcript will update so you can read along with what's being said.

Transcriptions have a "Summary" button so you can get a quick summary of what was said in the call, plus there is a search option for searching for key words and phrases. Note that the Summary function requires an Apple Intelligence-compatible device, but recording and transcribing are general features available to everyone.

Transcripts can be added to a different note, or copied, and the audio can be saved to the Files app or shared.

Search Call History

In ‌iOS 18‌, Apple added a search feature for the Recents tab, which means you can now search through all of your incoming and outgoing calls and voicemails.

1. Open up the Phone app.
2. Tap on the Recents tab.
3. Search for the person or number you're looking for with the search bar at the top of the interface.

You can type in phone numbers or names to see calls that have been placed, received, or missed, and contacts that have the name or phone number you're searching for.

Along with name or phone number, you can search for the date of a call, the type of call (such as FaceTime), or use multiple search parameters. If you wanted to see all calls from Eric in June, for example, you could type in "Eric" tap the name when it comes up to set the parameter, and then add in "June" to the search bar.

There are options to "See All" calls and voicemails when conducting a search to view more results.

Swap SIM cards

If you have two SIMs on your ‌iPhone‌, such as for personal and work purposes, you can swap between them using a Control Center toggle. In prior versions of iOS, you had to change numbers using the Settings app.

To swap numbers, open up Control Center, navigate to the connectivity controls, and long press on Cellular Data.

Contact Suggestions

When you start typing in a number with the Keypad in ‌iOS 18‌, you'll see a list of contacts so you can quickly get to who you want to call.

Type in the first digit or two of a number and then tap on the "More" icon to see all of your options. You can tap one from there to dial.

T9 Dialing

Related to the contact suggestion feature, you can actually search for names instead of numbers using T9 characters. If you have a contact in your phone under "Eric," you can type in 3 for E, 7 for R, 4 for I, and 2 for C, and the contact card for Eric will pop up.

T9 dialing dates back to the days before touchscreens, allowing smartphone users to type using predictive text that associated numbers with letters. The ‌iPhone‌ has not supported T9 dialing until now.

Phone App Release Info

Call recording and transcribing are ‌iOS 18‌ features that will be available to anyone, but the functionality won't be added to iOS devices until iOS 18.1. Summarizing transcripts is an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ feature that will be limited to devices compatible with ‌Apple Intelligence‌. That includes the iPhone 15 Pro, ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max, or iPhone 16, as well as M-series iPads and Macs.

Read More

Additional information on new features that Apple has added in ‌iOS 18‌ can be found in our iOS 18 roundup.

macOS Sequoia, the newest version of the operating system that runs on the Mac, is set to launch in mid-September, MacRumors has learned. While Apple's iOS updates are consistently introduced in September, macOS launch dates vary, and new Mac updates have been released in September, October, and November in recent years.

This year, Apple plans to release ‌macOS Sequoia‌ around the same time as iOS 18 rather than holding it until October. Introducing both updates at the same time will ensure that cross-platform features are functional and working as intended, such as iPhone Mirroring. A key new feature, ‌iPhone‌ Mirroring allows an ‌iPhone‌ running ‌iOS 18‌ to be controlled using a Mac running ‌macOS Sequoia‌.

Other new features coming to ‌macOS Sequoia‌ include refreshed window tiling capabilities, a dedicated Passwords app, and updates to Safari, Messages, Maps, Notes, and more.

Apple Intelligence features will not be in ‌macOS Sequoia‌ or ‌iOS 18‌ at launch, with Apple instead introducing the functionality in subsequent iOS 18.1 and ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.1 updates. We expect to see those updates released in October.

Apple is in the final stages of beta testing ‌macOS Sequoia‌ and ‌iOS 18‌ ahead of its annual fall iPhone-focused event. If Apple sticks with the timing that it has used for the last several years, the most likely event date is September 10. If that's the event date, new iPhones could launch a week later on September 20. New iOS updates typically come out on the Wednesday before new iPhones launch, so with that timeline, we could see ‌iOS 18‌ and ‌macOS Sequoia‌ on September 18.

There is some wiggle room with dates, though, and Apple could opt to hold the event later in September, which would change the software launch date guesstimate. Apple could announce its ‌iPhone‌ event as soon as next week.

Nintendo today announced that it will shut down the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp app for iOS on November 29, seven years after the game originally launched. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a freemium app that Nintendo has regularly been adding new content to through ongoing events, so there are players with money invested in the game.

There will be no more events or updates with the Pocket Camp service being discontinued, but Nintendo will release a paid version of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp so that existing users can continue to play an offline version of the game. The paid version will allow saves to be transferred over, but it will not support visiting and interacting with other players or receiving gifts. It will not have in-app purchases nor will it require an online connection.

Pocket Camp users who have purchased Leaf Tickets, the in-game currency, can redeem them through November 28. Leaf Tickets not used by that date will expire. Pocket Camp Club subscriptions will be ending on October 28, but Nintendo will continue providing the associated benefits until Pocket Camp shuts down.

Nintendo plans to release the paid version of the app when the existing freemium version is shut down, but pricing has not yet been announced. Transferring a Pocket Camp save to the new app requires linking to a Nintendo Account.

Apple today released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2, including both the Lightning and USB-C versions. The firmware has a build number of 7A5290a, up from 7A5266c, and it is available to developers at the current time. This is the fourth firmware update that Apple has released since announcing new ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 features in June.

There are multiple features that are coming to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 as part of iOS 18, and these features are included in the firmware update.

With head gestures, users can control Siri on the ‌AirPods Pro‌ with a shake or a nod of the head. If you get a phone call, for example, you can shake your head no if you don't want to answer it, or nod to accept the call. ‌Siri‌ interactions can be used for responding to incoming messages, calls, and notifications.

Apple is adding Voice Isolation to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ to cut down on loud background sounds to make you easier to hear, and there is a new Personalized Spatial Audio feature specific to gaming. Game developers will be able to incorporate spatial audio into their games for a more immersive audio experience.

The new firmware is limited to developers at the current time, but it will be available to all ‌iOS 18‌ users following the public launch of the new software.

Apple today began sending out emails to customers letting them know about upcoming changes that are being made to the Apple Cash Terms and Conditions.

iOS 18 and watchOS 11 introduce Tap to Cash, a feature that allows users to exchange Apple Cash in person by holding an iPhone or Apple Watch near another ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch. As part of this feature implementation, Apple is changing the identity verification rules surrounding Apple Cash.

Starting on October 4, Apple will require that ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch users verify their identity to send more than a total of $500 in peer-to-peer transfers, which includes sending Apple Cash via Messages and making Tap to Cash payments. Identity verification is required whether sending money from an Apple Cash balance or from a supported card in the Wallet app. Prior transactions will count toward the limit that will trigger identity verification.

Apple already requires identity verification for Apple Cash for those who use the feature frequently. Apple's support document says that users cannot add or receive $500 or more in total without identity verification, so it sounds like verification will also be required when sending large amounts of money as of October.

Identify verification for Apple Cash involves taking photos of a driver's license or ID card, as well as answering personal history questions and providing information like home address, date of birth, and social security number.

Identity verification for sending payments makes sense as Tap to Cash will allow money to be exchanged without being accompanied by personal information like phone number. Tap to Cash is designed for private in-person transactions where Apple Cash is exchanged.

Apple's email to customers also says that it is adding the Vision Pro as a supported device for Apple Cash and that weekly peer-to-peer transfer limits will apply to transfers that are sent as well as received. Apple allows users to send or receive a maximum of $10,000 within a 7-day period.

The iPhone 16 lineup will feature a significant number of new camera features and capabilities, AppleInsider reports.

Both the ‌iPhone 16‌ and iPhone 16 Pro models are rumored to step up the iPhone's photography and videography functions, including upgraded hardware such as 48-megapixel sensor on the Pro models' ultra wide camera and software such as macro photography for the standard models and an all-new image format. Reiterating some previous rumors, the report claims that:

• The ‌iPhone 16‌'s main camera will remain the same as that of the iPhone 15 with a 48-megapixel sensor and a f/1.6 aperture, and there are unlikely to be changes to the unit on subsequent generations through to 2026.
• The ‌iPhone 16‌'s ultra wide camera will gain a f/2.2 aperture, up from the f/2.4 aperture on the previous generation, to improve low-light performance.
• The ‌iPhone 16‌ and ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus may support macro photography for the first time. The feature is currently exclusive to the Pro models.
• The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will continue to feature a 48-megapixel main camera with an f/1.78 aperture.
• The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ will gain the 5x tetraprism telephoto camera introduced on the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max last year, replacing the current 3x telephoto camera.
• The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will feature an upgraded ultra wide camera with a 48-megapixel sensor, with the same pixel-binning feature as the main camera. It will have an f/2.2 aperture, up from f/2.4, for significantly improved low-light performance and support 48-megapixel ProRaw photography.
• Apple will introduce a new image format called "JPEG-XL," sitting alongside HEIF, JPEG, HEIF Max, ProRaw, and ProRAW Max.
• The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max will support 3K video at 120 frames per second with Dolby Vision.
• A new capacitive "Capture" button will be introduced on all four models, designed to be used exclusively by camera apps. Users will apparently be able to select which camera app the button opens, including third-party ones.
• The Capture button offers a force-sensitive half-press tied to a developer API that could, for example, lock exposure and focus, before fully depressing the button to take a photo.
• Sliding along the capacitive button will also perform different actions. This gesture will tout a developer API.

The ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup is expected to be announced in just a matter of weeks. The Pro models are expected to feature larger display sizes and a faster chip, while the standard models are set to offer the Action button and a redesigned rear camera array. See our comprehensive roundup for more information.

Apple today shared new ads focusing on Final Cut Pro 10.8, the latest version of the Apple-designed app for professional video editing. The first ad highlights Final Cut Pro for the Mac, while the second covers Final Cut Pro for iPad.

Both videos walk through the different features that are available in Final Cut Pro on the Mac and the ‌iPad‌. The Mac video walks through different tools for adding effects and organizing footage, while the ‌iPad‌ ad shows off the touch-based gestures and Apple Pencil integration.

With Final Cut Pro 10.8, which came out in June, Apple added Enhance Light and Color, an feature that improves color, color balance, contrast, and brightness in one step. Slo-Mo, another AI feature, blends the frames of video intelligently to provide higher-quality movement.

Apple also introduced Final Cut Camera, an app that can capture video from multiple iOS devices and feed it into Final Cut Pro for a multicam experience.

Final Cut Pro is priced at $300 for the Mac version, and $49 per year or $4.99 per month for the ‌iPad‌ version. Apple offers a free 90-day trial.

Apple is making additional changes to its app ecosystem in the European Union to comply with the terms of the Digital Markets Act. The default browser selection experience that's already in place will be updated, Apple will allow EU users to set defaults for more types of apps, and core iOS apps like Messages and the App Store will also be deletable.

iPhone owners in the EU can already set different defaults for the browser, mail app, app marketplace, and contactless payments, but Apple is going to allow users to select new defaults for phone calls, messaging, password managers, keyboards, call spam filters, navigation, and translation. That means, for example, that EU users will be able to choose an app like WhatsApp instead of Messages to be their default texting app, or a mapping app like Waze to be the default instead of Apple Maps.

Apple has not yet provided insight into just how setting a new default will work for messaging apps, navigation, password managers, and more, and the company plans to provide more information as the launch date for these features approaches. New defaults for phone calls, messaging, password managers, spam call filters, and keyboards will be able to be set starting with an update to iOS 18 coming later this year, while the option to set different navigation and translation defaults will be implemented in spring 2025.

To handle the multitude of new default apps that can be set, Apple is adding a Default Apps section to the Settings app. It will list all of the defaults available to each user for easy management.

Along with setting new apps as defaults, Apple will let users delete core apps. The ‌App Store‌, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps will be able to be deleted, so it's essentially just the Settings and Phone apps that will not be able to be removed in the EU. If a user deletes the ‌App Store‌ app, it will be able to be reinstalled from the Settings app if desired, while the other apps can be reinstalled from the ‌App Store‌.

With iOS 17.4, EU users were able to select a default browser from a randomized list of the top 12 browsers in their country. In a future update to ‌iOS 18‌, the browser choice window will pop up again if a user has Safari set as their default. The new browser selection experience will include a descriptive line about the browser, as well as the option to set a default browser right from the choice window. If a user selects a browser that is already installed on their device, it will open automatically, otherwise there will be a downloading icon and the browser will open after it's downloaded. Users will also need to scroll through the full list of available browser options before being able to make a selection.

Note that the option to set a default browser will only show up again for users who have Safari as the default, so if an EU user has already selected Chrome, the choice window will not pop up again with the ‌iOS 18‌ update coming later in the year. Users will also see the selection interface on all of their devices rather than just one, and it will show up when Safari is opened for the first time after updating. Setting a new default when Safari is on the user's Home Screen or Dock will see the new default browser replace the Safari icon.

The browser default popup will also be displayed when migrating to a new device if the user previously had Safari set as the default.

The changes that Apple is making are applicable for ‌iPhone‌ and iPad users in the European Union with updates to ‌iOS 18‌ and iPadOS 18, and will not be available in other countries like the United States.

More information on the changes can be found on Apple's developer site.

Amazon today has the Apple Studio Display for $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00, which is a match of the all-time low price on the monitor. This is the standard glass version of the Studio Display with the tilt adjustable stand, and Amazon also has a few other models on sale as well.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can get the standard glass model with the VESA Mount Adapter for $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00, but there isn't currently a sale on the tilt- and height-adjustable stand model. In regards to the VESA model, this is a match of the all-time low price on the display.

If you want to upgrade to the nano-texture glass option, Amazon also has this model of the Studio Display on sale. It's available for $1,599.00, down from $1,899.00, which is a second-best price on the Studio Display with nano-texture glass.

The Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K retina display with a 5120 x 2880 resolution and up to 600 nits of brightness. Apple says that the standard display is engineered for "extremely low reflectivity," but for rooms where there is a lot of glare, Apple suggests the nano-texture glass option with even less reflectivity.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple's rumored foldable MacBook won't arrive until the end of 2027 or 2028 at the earliest because of technical challenges, according to the latest prediction by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Previous reports from display industry analyst Ross Young, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu, Korean website The Elec, and Kuo himself suggested that Apple is developing an all-display foldable laptop that will feature a 20.2-inch or an 18.8-inch screen.

When folded, the laptop was rumored to be a full-size on-screen keyboard that seamlessly integrates the typing experience into the display itself. When completely unfolded, the device was said to function as a standard monitor. Paired with an external keyboard, it would essentially transform into a large-screen desktop setup.

Kuo in May said that LG Display was aiming to begin mass production of display panels for a MacBook with a 20.2-inch or an 18.8-inch foldable screen in the fourth quarter of 2025. However, his latest post on X (Twitter) claims that Apple has canceled the 20-inch design and has now settled on a display size of 18.8 inches.

"Some market participants previously expected Apple to launch the foldable iPad in 2025," said Kuo in his latest post. "But the current supply chain survey indicates that the foldable ‌iPad‌ has no visibility. This may also be because some call this foldable MacBook a foldable ‌iPad‌."

Apple has been experimenting with various devices with foldable displays, including a foldable iPad and MacBook. Obviously the MacBook is already foldable, but Apple has reportedly been exploring an all-display MacBook form factor that has no standard keyboard.

Display analyst Ross Young said in July 2022 that Apple could bring some kind of foldable laptop to market in 2026 or 2027, and it remains unclear if such a device would be classified as a Mac, an ‌‌iPad‌‌, or something in between.

In a May report, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu said Apple's first foldable devices would reach mass production in 2025 and 2026, following increasing evidence of foldable devices in Apple's supply chain. At the time, the analyst said Apple would likely release a large-screen foldable ‌iPad‌ or MacBook in that timeframe before launching a higher-volume foldable iPhone in late 2026.

Pu had claimed one Apple foldable with a 20.3-inch display would start production in late 2025, which was sooner than previously expected. However, Pu later said he believed Apple would join the foldable market in the second quarter of 2026 due to "display durability issues," reflecting Apple's intention to perfect a foldable design. It seems Apple is still in the prototyping stage of a foldable device. Would you be interested in such a product? Let us know in the comments.

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Apple Card, which saw an official release on August 20, 2019. The ‌Apple Card‌ is Apple's first and only Apple-branded credit card, made available in partnership with Goldman Sachs.

At launch, the ‌Apple Card‌ was only available in the United States, and today, five years later, it is still limited to the United States and has not expanded to additional countries. Just a month after the ‌Apple Card‌'s debut, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple was interested in expanding the ‌Apple Card‌ to multiple countries, but that it would take time due to various regulations around the world.

There have been rumors of ‌Apple Card‌ talks in Europe, and Apple trademarked ‌Apple Card‌ in Europe, Hong Kong, and Canada, but no deals have emerged. ‌Apple Card‌ expanding to additional countries is even more up in the air with Apple's upcoming decoupling from Goldman Sachs.

Apple is planning to end its partnership with Goldman Sachs in 2025, and it will need to find a new ‌Apple Card‌ provider in the United States. Apple and Goldman Sachs ran into trouble with customer service issues for disputed ‌Apple Card‌ transactions, as well as complaints with wait times for Apple Savings account withdrawals.

Goldman Sachs even ended up being investigated by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because of customer complaints, which led to a souring of the bank's relationship with Apple. Goldman Sachs now plans to get out of consumer banking entirely.

The ‌Apple Card‌ is a no-fee credit card with no annual fees, no international fees, no fees for making a late payment, and no fees for exceeding a credit limit. There aren't consumer protections like one might get with an American Express card, but there is deep integration with the Wallet app for tracking spending.

Apple provides 1 percent Daily Cash back on all purchases, 2 percent for Apple Pay purchases, and 3 percent for ‌Apple Pay‌ purchases from the Apple Store. Daily Cash is sent to customers each day, hence the name.

Apple has not commented on the possibility of expanding ‌Apple Card‌ to additional countries in some time, and there is no word on whether that's still the plan.

Google last week introduced the Pixel 9 smartphone lineup, with a selection of new devices that are focused on AI. All of the Pixel 9 phones support Gemini AI, and Google has also added AI-based image generation and editing tools. Reviewers have been testing the new smartphone features, and the AI image generation is probably going to turn into a PR nightmare for Google based on what's come out so far.

Google introduced an AI image generation app for the Pixel phones, called Pixel Studio. It's designed to create stickers and images using text-based prompts, and it looks and sounds a lot like Apple's planned Image Playground. So far, reviewers have been able to create all manner of questionable images with Pixel Studio, ranging from a Nazi version of Spongebob to Elmo with an AK47.

Digital Trends had no trouble getting Pixel Studio to make images of beloved cartoon characters doing questionable activities. Guns, drugs, and alcohol were not off-limits, nor were offensive situations like school shootings. Pixel Studio did not generate these kinds of images unless asked, but that's most likely what people will immediately do with the feature rather than generating images of cute cats and bunnies.

Google said that there were "safety checks" in place to keep Pixel Studio from being "used nefariously," and there are some. Pixel Studio will not create images of humans, and Google is tweaking the AI in response to reviews. After speaking with Google, Digital Trends was no longer able to get Pixel Studio to create cartoon characters using cocaine or dressed as German soldiers.

Even more concerning than Pixel Studio is Google's "Reimagine" tool, which can add objects to photos that you've already taken. The Verge used it to add corpses, bombs, drugs, and disasters to images, and objects included in photos look so realistic that it's difficult to tell when an image has been edited. Google is able to do a pretty good job matching lighting and perspective to the original photo, and there are no watermarks or flags on social media. Google does add a metadata tag, but that's easy enough to eliminate with a screenshot.

You can, of course, use Reimagine for adding sunsets and rainbows to your image, just like you can use Pixel Studio for creating fun pictures, and both AI features work great, so these tools aren't all bad. Android Authority shared a post with Oreo pizza, a giraffe surfing, and kittens playing basketball, for example. As The Verge points out, you could always add a body to an image or create a picture of Elmo with a gun, but it would take some Photoshop skill and time to do so. With the Pixel phones, it takes just a thought and a few seconds to create that kind of image, and it's right there on the smartphone for anyone to use.

In statements to The Verge and Digital Trends, Google said that it designed its generative AI tools to "respect the intent of user prompts" which can lead to the creation of content "that may offend" when the user asks for it. But Google claims that there are "Terms of Service" on what content is not allowed, and that safeguards will be continually refined.

Apple hasn't yet introduced its image generation tools, ‌Image Playground‌ or Genmoji, and the media surrounding the Pixel 9 launch gives us some insight into what the response might be like if Apple doesn't get it just right. With AI, it's likely that people are going to be able to find workarounds even if Apple puts numerous safeguards in place. Apple so far has shied away from photorealistic AI images, but Google is going all in, and it's going to be much harder to trust photos on social media and the internet going forward.

App Store vice president Matt Fischer is set to leave the company as Apple prepares for an ‌App Store‌ reorganization to deal with regulatory changes, reports Bloomberg.

Apple plans to split its ‌App Store‌ group into two teams, one that handles the ‌App Store‌ and a second team that oversees alternative app distribution. As of earlier this year, Apple has supported iOS app downloads from alternative app stores and from websites in the European Union, a change that the company had to make to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

To handle ongoing compliance with EU regulations for app distribution and alternative payment methods, ‌App Store‌ chief Phil Schiller is changing the ‌App Store‌'s hierarchy.

Fischer joined Apple in 2003 to oversee iTunes marketing, but he has served as the vice president of the ‌App Store‌ since 2010. In an email to Apple employees today, Fischer said that he had been thinking about leaving Apple for some time, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity.

With Fischer leaving, ‌App Store‌ senior director Carson Oliver will oversee the ‌App Store‌, and Ann Thai, a director who oversees ‌App Store‌ features, will head up the team that handles alternative app distribution.

There is a new character bug that can result in a respring on the iPhone or iPad, reports TechCrunch. Typing "":: in the search field after swiping over to the App Library will cause the Springboard to reset, dropping you back at the ‌iPhone‌'s Lock Screen. A respring is not a full reset, and it only takes a few seconds for the ‌iPhone‌ to be functional again.

Typing the same characters into the Settings app search interface will cause the Settings app to crash, but putting it in a Spotlight search doesn't seem to impact anything. The respring seemed to only happen on devices running iOS 17 when we tested, but putting those characters into a search interface on a device running iOS 18 does result in some odd behavior, such as the characters disappearing and the Settings app crashing.

You can actually type in just "": and any other character to cause the respring to happen, so it's something related to the first three symbols in a four character sequence.

Character bugs have in the past spread though Messages and have allowed users to crash the iPhones of others, but this is a much more insignificant issue because the ‌iPhone‌ owner needs to manually type (or paste) the characters into a search interface. There does not appear to be a way to affect an ‌iPhone‌ through Messages or another texting platform.

It's likely Apple will address the issue with an iOS update in the near future.

It's been almost a year since the iPhone 15 models were released, so MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera decided to do a one-year check-in review on the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max to see how it's performed over the last 12 months.

Unsurprisingly, Dan has seen some iPhone battery degradation, and it's dropped to 89 percent. That's with regular CarPlay usage, running betas, and standard day-to-day use. Even at 89 percent, the battery can still last for a full day without needing a charge.

As for the titanium chassis, it's held up well. There are a few nicks due to minor drops, but the display has seen a lot more damage with several scratches, some of which are deep.

The transition to USB-C has been a little tough just because there are still people with Lightning iPhones. If someone wants to borrow your charger, you may not have the right cable if you've switched to USB-C and they're still on Lightning.

Dan uses the Action Button for opening up the Camera app, but there's so much more that the Action Button can do in iOS 18, and it's going to get a lot more useful in the future. You can set Control Center controls to the Action Button, and developers can make new controls for apps that you can use.

There's not too much to say about the triple-lens camera setup, which is great. The 5x zoom lens is excellent for taking portrait pictures of people, and it's been a solid improvement. Otherwise, the cameras are fantastic with a lot of focal length versatility thanks to the new zoom option.

Overall, the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max has held up well, and if you have one (or a Pro), there's no real need to upgrade to the iPhone 16 models. The A17 Pro in the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro is incredibly fast and there's no way most people are even reaching the limits of its capabilities at this time, and Apple isn't adding too much more than an extra Capture Button and a slightly larger display in 2024. You can already use Apple Intelligence if you have an ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro model, so there's not a lot to get out of a year-over-year upgrade.

If you have an older ‌iPhone‌, it's worth looking at the ‌iPhone 16‌ models, or even an ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro when prices drop and they're discontinued. All of the ‌iPhone 16‌ models will have a chip compatible with ‌Apple Intelligence‌, a Capture Button, and an Action Button, so there's a lot to gain coming from an iPhone 14 or earlier.

How has your ‌iPhone 15‌ held up if you have one? Let us know in the comments below.