Apple has an upcoming promotion that gives users up to two months of free Apple Music when they add funds to their Apple Account balance, according to code found by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.
The offer will provide two months of free Apple Music for new subscribers and one month for qualified returning subscribers when adding $25 or more to an Apple Account balance. Users receive a bonus code immediately after adding the required amount.
The promotion is set to run through March 16, 2026, and is available only in the United States for users 13 and older. Gift card purchases from third-party retailers and Apple stores are excluded from the offer.
After the free period ends, Apple Music automatically renews at $10.99 per month unless canceled. Users can manage their subscription through the Apple Account section at the top of iPhone's Settings app menu (then tap Payment & Shipping ➝ Add Money to Apple Account). To avoid being charged, users must cancel at least one day before renewal.
The offer, which has yet to go live, will be limited to one per Apple Account and cannot be combined with other Apple Music promotions.
Apple is no longer signing iOS 18.6, making downgrades from iOS 18.6.2 or iOS 18.6.1 to iOS 18.6 impossible. iOS 18.6.1 was released a little over a week ago, swiftly followed by iOS 18.6.2 on Wednesday.
Apple often stops signing an older version of iOS, usually within a week or two after a new version is released. When an update is no longer signed, it can't be installed on an iPhone due to a server-side software verification check.
By no longer signing a software version, Apple ensures that customers have the latest security improvements and are not vulnerable to known attacks.
Apple's iOS 18.6.1 update re-enables blood oxygen monitoring in the United States for the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 running watchOS 11.6.1, which was released concurrently. That was quickly followed by iOS 18.6.2, providing important security fixes.
An established Chinese leaker has pushed back against recent rumors suggesting Apple plans to eliminate the Camera Control button from the iPhone 18, instead claiming the company is working to simplify the component to reduce costs.
According to Weibo leaker Instant Digital, the Camera Control's pressure-sensitive modules for the iPhone 18 series currently remain in trial production. However, Apple is reportedly removing the capacitive sensor from the current dual-sensor design, and opting instead to rely solely on pressure sensing to achieve all button functions.
The current Camera Control button on iPhone 16 models uses both capacitive and pressure sensors beneath a sapphire crystal surface. The capacitive layer detects touch gestures, while the force sensor recognizes different pressure levels for taps, presses, and swipes.
Instant Digital says Apple's revised approach is similar to designs found in devices like the OPPO X8 Ultra and vivo X200 Ultra, where pressure sensors alone can recognize light taps, firm presses, and sliding gestures.
The leaker suggests cost concerns are driving the change, noting that the current solution is "genuinely very expensive" for Apple and is generating costly after-sales repairs. This is said to be creating "significant internal cost pressure" for Apple, especially since not all of its AI-powered Visual Intelligence features have fully rolled out yet, which is limiting the button's perceived value.
Instant Digital has a decent track record for leaks, suggesting this is a genuine debunk of the recent report from another Weibo account indicating that Apple would drop the Camera Control from the iPhone 18 lineup due to low user engagement. Its removal would have been quite the reversal – Apple only debuted the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 series last year.
Apple has had yet another AI executive poached by Meta, despite reports that the social networking company is slowing hiring (via Bloomberg).
Frank Chu, one of Apple's team leaders focused on cloud infrastructure, training, and search, will join Meta's Superintelligence Labs, a division tasked with building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.
Chu was involved with managing Apple's cloud-based large language models (LLMs), and was also influential in developing search features for Siri and Apple's entertainment services. For Meta, Chu will work on a new team called MSL Infra, responsible for AI infrastructure development.
Meta has spent billions of dollars on recruitment for its Superintelligence group in recent months, but the company is said to be slowing down hiring over concerns of an overheated market. The pause went into effect last week amid a broader restructuring of the group.
Fears that investments in AI are moving too fast weren't helped by reports earlier this week that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a group of journalists that he believes AI is in a bubble. There was a broader sell-off of U.S. technology stocks following the news.
Apple has hemorrhaged around a dozen artificial intelligence staff to rivals since January. The exodus of staff from Apple's AI team over the last seven months has seen senior researchers leave variously for Meta, OpenAI, xAI, Cohere, and others.
One of the most notable recent departures was Ruoming Pang, head of Apple's Foundational Models team, who joined Meta last month after being lured by CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a $200 million pay package.
The talent drain coincides with Apple's struggle to update Siri by integrating LLMs. A chatbot-like version of the virtual assistant was one of the key Apple Intelligence features that Apple promoted at last year's WWWDC, but it has yet to arrive.
Apple is said to be considering using third-party AI models for Siri rather than its in-house technology, following an executive restructuring. During Apple's recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is "making good progress on a more personalized Siri" that is powered by Apple Intelligence, and he reiterated that the features will be available next year.
Startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator (YC) today filed an amicus brief supporting Epic Games in Epic's continued legal fight with Apple. Y Combinator says that Apple's "anti-steering restraints" have long inhibited the growth and development of technology companies that monetize goods and services through apps.
The company calls on the court to deny Apple's appeal and uphold the order that required Apple to change its App Store linking rules in the United States.
Back in April, Apple was found to be violating a 2021 injunction that required it to let developers direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web using in-app links. Apple had implemented a system for developers to link to external websites in their apps, but it charged an up to 27 percent fee to do so.
Apple was found to be in "willful violation" of the anti-steering injunction, and it was ordered to allow developers to freely link to purchase options outside of the App Store with no fees or restrictions on link format. Apple implemented those changes, but also filed an appeal, so there is potential for the decision to be walked back. Epic Games and now Y Combinator are aiming to prevent Apple from being able to revert to its old App Store rules around linking.
Y Combinator says that it has "long been hesitant" to support app-based businesses subject to "the Apple Tax" because they were poor investments.
A 30% revenue share can easily be the difference between a company that can afford to scale, hire new employees, and reinvest in its product, and one that is perpetually struggling to stay afloat. Understood in this light, the 30% Apple Tax protected from erosion by Apple's anti-steering restraints is not merely a cost of doing business, it is a profound and often insurmountable barrier to entry that stifles competition and innovation at its source.
The enforcement order that's currently in place has already created renewed investor interest in app-based business models that were previously not feasible, according to Y Combinator. The company believes that Apple adds minimal value for the fees that it collects.
Y Combinator suggests that the court end Apple's anti-steering restraints permanently to promote innovation and to allow tech startups to freely compete.
The cases feature a muted, fabric design in colors that appear to include black, blue, green, purple, and orange. The TechWoven cases will reportedly replace the fabric-like FineWoven casesthat Apple discontinued with the iPhone 16 launch. The FineWoven cases were not popular with customers due to their penchant for staining and issues with durability. The fabric of the TechWoven case has supposedly been "redesigned for greater durability."
Majin Bu claims that the cases will include metallic buttons with "improved tactile feedback," a Camera Control button, MagSafe compatibility, and two small holes at the bottom for attaching a crossbody strap or accessories. The cases appear to be for the iPhone 17 Pro models that are rumored to have a horizontal camera bar given the size of the camera cutout, but Bu says the TechWoven cases will be available for all of the iPhone 17 models.
It is unclear as of yet if these cases are real, but we will find out in less than a month when Apple unveils the new iPhone 17 models.
Popular cartoon series South Park has been satirizing U.S. President Donald Trump, and the latest episode, titled "Sickofancy," includes Apple CEO Tim Cook.
A cartoon version of Cook is depicted visiting Trump in the White House to provide him with a gift, which is poking fun at the glass and gold Apple plaque that Cook presented to Trump earlier in August.
"Mr. President, your ideas for the tech industry are so innovative and you definitely do not have a small penis," said the fake Cook. "Please accept this gift on behalf of Apple."
Cartoon Trump proceeds to take Cook's gift into bed with him. "Another great day getting presents," said cartoon Trump while climbing into bed with Satan. "Look at what some dipshit tech CEO gave me," he adds, before suggesting the duo do something X-rated with Cook's gift. Cook was just one of several notable figures shown presenting Trump with high-value gifts in the South Park episode.
“Mr. President, your ideas for the tech industry are so innovative. And you definitely do not have a small penis.” pic.twitter.com/anVvOSIVb0
— South Park (@SouthPark) August 21, 2025
In real life, Cook gave Trump a glass plaque with an Apple logo engraved on it, which was manufactured by Apple supplier Corning in Kentucky. Beneath the glass plaque, there is a 24-karat pure gold base that Cook said was sourced from Utah.
Cook was at the White House to announce Apple's plans to invest an additional $100 billion in U.S. manufacturing over the next four years, bringing Apple's total investment to $600 billion.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
The Deebot X9 Pro Omni is the latest flagship robot vacuum from Ecovacs. At $1,300, it doesn't come cheap, but it is one of the most full-featured automated vacuuming and mopping options on the market right now.
I reviewed the X8 Pro Omni earlier this year, and I've been using the X9 Pro Omni for over three months now. For something this expensive, I wanted to make sure that I extensively tested it before sharing an opinion. The X9 Pro Omni is a Matter-enabled robot vacuum, so it connects to the Apple Home app. It can be controlled with the Home app, the Ecovacs app, or Siri voice commands.
Design
In a lot of ways, it's hard to distinguish the X9 Pro Omni from the X8. The actual design of the robot is similar, though there are several changes. There are some minor updates to the design of the mopping pad and the main brush, and the side brush has a new design. There's also an update to the design of the top cover, but the two vacuums are otherwise identical in size and are close in function.
The X9 Pro Omni is 13.9 inches wide and 3.85 inches tall, and these are important dimensions to consider. If a lot of your furniture is shorter than that, the robot isn't going to be able to get underneath it. And 13.9 inches is the width that it needs for navigating doorways, around tricky furniture, and in other tight spaces. This isn't the smallest robot vacuum on the market, and it is taller than the Saros 10R from Roborock. The Saros 10R can get underneath all of my furniture, but I have a TV stand and a couple other pieces of furniture that are too low for the X9 Pro Omni. I've learned that slimmer and smaller definitely helps for a thorough clean, but there still has to be space for a dust bag and water, so it's a balancing act.
The X9 Pro base station received a much more significant design update than the robot, and it's the reason why I'd absolutely choose the X9 over the X8 if I were going to buy a robot vacuum from Ecovacs. The X9 base station is several inches smaller than the X8 version, and it has a modern, streamlined look. It takes up less vertical space, and the two water containers are hidden away. It's also not quite as wide.
Design wise, the X9 Pro Omni base station makes the X8 Pro Omni base station look clunky and outdated. These base stations can't be hidden away because they need to be easily accessible for the robot, so I appreciate the refined design for something that has a prominent place in my bathroom. It's a major improvement.
Function
Ecovacs says the X9 Pro Omni has 16,600 suction Pa, which on paper is lower than the X8 Pro Omni. I haven't noticed a difference in performance, though. It's still able to get all the dust, dirt, and cat hair off of my floors and out of my rugs.
I have wood flooring and no carpet, so I can't thoroughly review how it performs on carpeting. If you have carpet, you're going to want to read additional reviews from people who have used it extensively on carpet. I have a couple large rugs and some smaller rugs scattered throughout the house, and it's able to clean them well. I have a rug that sheds like crazy, and I feel like the X9 Pro is able to do a better job than my Dyson vacuum, which just gets clogged. Ecovacs says that the X9 Pro Omni gets 137 percent more dust out of carpets than the X8, but I can't quite tell because of how little carpet I have.
I do not like how the X9 Pro Omni performs with smaller rugs. It really struggles with a thinner rug that I have that has fringe on the edges. It gets stuck constantly in that rug, so much so that I eventually just made that rug a no-go zone. On more substantial rugs that have a rubber backing to hold them in place, it's able to perform better and doesn't get itself stuck, but like most of the robot vacuums, it'll move the rugs around a little.
If you have thinner rugs that do not have a rubber backing on them (I have several of these because I don't want to damage my wood floors), then the X9 Pro Omni will be a headache. I blocked it from some of my rugs and others I pick up before it runs. The X8 Pro was the same way, so there's been no improvement. For comparison's sake, the Saros 10R from Roborock is able to navigate those kinds of rugs well enough not to get itself tangled up constantly.
I have no other issues with the vacuuming. I have a lot of houseplants and I have had a dirt spill or two, and it has no problems with that. It also leaves no trace of cat hair. The side brush is designed to get into corners and around furniture, and it works well keeping the area near the baseboards clean. I haven't noticed a major difference between the cleaning of the X9 Pro and the X8 Pro despite the updated side brush design.
There's also a new main brush that Ecovacs is calling ZeroTangle 3.0, up from 2.0. I have never had the brush on one of the Ecovacs robots tangle up. I have long hair, my partner has long hair, and one of my two cats has long hair, but I haven't had to pull out the brush to remove hair wrapped around it.
Ecovacs uses a unique roller mop design for its robots, which I am a fan of. The roller mop gets constantly washed as it cleans, and I like the idea of clean water washing my floor rather than dirt being spread around. The roller mop is an alternative to the dual spinning heads that other robots have, which have to be washed at the base station.
For mopping, the X9 Pro Omni does a good job. If you have something stubborn like dried ketchup or dried cat food on the floor, it's often not able to get it all in one go, but it does get smaller stains and it is able to remove stubborn stains with multiple passes. With robot vacuums, the idea is to run them multiple times a week so that the floor is cleaned over time and stays clean. For small messes, it's great. For a huge sticky stain on the floor? I have to clean that myself unless I want to run the X9 Pro Omni over that area several times, which is an option.
Prior to using the X9 Pro Omni, I mopped once a week and had my house thoroughly cleaned once a month. When the robot first started mopping the floor, the water would come back gray. Now, it's a little dirty some of the time, but it's close to clear. I'm a thorough mopper, but 3x per week mopping with the X9 Pro Omni's roller mop made a difference, especially in areas where I didn't regularly clean like under the couch. My floors never looked dirty before, but now they feel much cleaner.
I should add that the X9 Pro Omni is almost always cleaning my floor with just water. There is a slot for adding cleaning solution, but you need to be careful what you use. Ecovacs recommends using its solution to avoid gumming up the internals, but I've also successfully used Bona's robot vacuum cleaning solution. Water is totally fine and gets the floor clean.
Noise
When vacuuming, the X9 Pro sounds like a vacuum. I can tolerate being in the same room with it if I wear noise canceling headphones, but I wouldn't want it to vacuum at night. The mopping is quieter, and I don't hear much when the vacuum isn't on.
The X9 Pro Omni is designed to mop and vacuum at the same time, and that's as noisy as vacuuming alone.
Battery
The X9 Pro Omni has decent battery life, but how long it lasts when cleaning will depend on the parameters that are set and how often it needs to return to the dock to empty the dustbin or wash the mop.
I've seen it last for a little over three hours before it needs to recharge, and in that time period, it's able to clean around 1,000 sq ft, but that also varies based on the type of cleaning that it's doing.
If the X9 Pro Omni runs out of battery life in the middle of a task, it will recharge and then resume when it's done.
I find the best way to use robot vacuums is to have a set it and forget it cleaning schedule. I assign it to clean one area of the house per day, so it's not running out of battery. With a cleaning schedule, I don't have to think about the robot much at all. It goes off and does its thing, and the house stays clean. I add in spot cleanings when needed, and have it clean high traffic areas a couple times a week.
Dock
The dock is a charger, plus it holds clean and dirty water tanks and a dust bag. The X9 Pro Omni has to return to the dock to empty the dust it's collected and it also washes the mop with hot water.
Since the X9 Pro Omni's dock is smaller than the X8 Pro Omni, it has a smaller dirty water tank (2.2L vs. 4L). I do need to empty it more often, but it's quick to do so it hasn't been a hassle. The clean water tank is still 4L.
AI Features and Obstacle Avoidance
I've found that the high-end robot vacuums are good at navigation, and the X9 Pro Omni hasn't gotten stuck or had problems getting to different rooms of my house. It seems to be better at avoiding obstacles than the prior-generation X8 Pro Omni, and I've never had it wander off and get lost.
I have seen the X9 Pro Omni push lightweight items like my cat's food bowl out of the way to clean, but it's somehow never sucked up a small cat toy. It's surprisingly good at getting itself out of entanglements with tricky furniture, and it will try several avenues to exit a tight spot.
There is a "sensitive" setting that will make sure it avoids pets and people, but I have that turned off because if it stopped every time my cat approached it, it wouldn't get anything done.
This model has an "Intelligent Hosting" cleaning mode, where the robot decides what to clean and how to clean it. With this mode, the robot uses AI to determine where to clean and how much to clean an area. I've primarily been using this mode to give it a solid try, but sometimes I'm not sure why it makes a particular decision. I've noticed that it will do extra passes in doorways and around pet areas, which is smart, but then sometimes it will also skip entire rooms, or only clean half of a room.
The most recent time I used it, it cleaned most of my office, skipped my bathroom and closet, cleaned one small section of my living room, thoroughly cleaned two bedrooms, cleaned half of the craft room, and skipped the kitchen and living room entirely even though those are the rooms most in need of cleaning. If there was a reason for that chaotic pattern, I don't know what it was.
It is supposed to be able to detect dirty areas on the floor, and it will sometimes go over a spot a bunch of times. I think sometimes that it sees the darker knots in my wood floor as dirt, but I have also seen it successfully scrub dried cat food off of the floor, and spend a good 15 minutes mopping up a craft area with clay on the floor.
You don't need to use the intelligent mode, and can instead elect to have the robot use standard cleaning methods that aren't directed by AI.
Ecovacs App
Setup and management of the X9 Pro Omni is done with the Ecovacs app, and that's also where all of the more advanced features are available. Getting the robot up and running takes less than five minutes, and then it's ready to go. When first activated, the X9 Pro Omni will do a complete 3D home scan to learn the layout of your house.
The robot maps out individual rooms and separates them out for the most part, but some manual management is necessary. I labeled each area and used the in-app tools to clarify that my bathroom and my closet are separate areas.
There is a detailed map editor for setting boundaries, creating no-go zones, labeling rooms, labeling furniture, merging rooms, separating rooms, and more.
The app has basic start, pause, and stop controls, but there are also multiple cleaning options to choose from. You can adjust the suction power of the vacuum (which impacts noise level), choose the water flow for mopping, and select cleaning patterns. There's standard clean with one pass, a deep clean with two, and a quick clean with more space between the back and forth rows the robot cleans in.
There is a built-in voice assistant activated with an "OK Yiko" wake word, but I use it very little. It's responsive and it works well for things like pausing cleaning or continuing to clean when the app is not at hand. It's more capable than Siri for cleaning-specific commands because it understands multi-step instructions like vacuum the bedroom and then mop the bathroom.
I appreciate that Ecovacs has detailed privacy controls with toggles to disable data sharing. There are also some fun little add-ins in the app, like the ability to view whatever the robot is seeing through its camera, and send it off through the house so you can keep an eye on things when you're not home.
There is one aspect of the cleaning that gets on my nerves, and that's the voice narration. The X9 Pro Omni will narrate what it's doing, such as letting me know when it's going to wash the mop, or that there will be noise when it's emptying the dust bag.
Home App
The X9 Pro Omni has Matter integration, so if you have iOS 18.4 or later, it can be added to the Home app and used with Siri.
When I first tested the X8, I wasn't sold on Siri integration, but I've come around to it and it's more useful than I first thought. I can say "Hey Siri, clean the kitchen," and it works. I have HomePods in my living room and office, so it's more convenient for me to ask Siri to do spot cleaning than it is to open the Ecovacs app or use the robot's voice command capabilities.
There are fairly basic controls for the X9 Pro Omni in the Home app. You can start/stop, choose between vacuum or mop modes, select a specific room to clean, and toggle between deep clean and quick clean.
I actually like some of the Home app automation options better than the cleaning schedules I can set in the Ecovacs app. With HomeKit, I can set the X9 Pro Omni to start cleaning when everyone leaves home, or schedule it to be activated alongside other HomeKit devices.
Maintenance
The X9 Pro Omni hasn't required much maintenance so far, but there are components that have a limited lifespan and that will need to be replaced. Ecovacs recommends replacing the main brush after 300 hours, the roller mop and side brush after 150 hours, and the filter after around 120 hours.
Sensors need to be cleaned every so often, the dust bag needs to be swapped out about once a month, and the water tanks need to be managed. I have to refill the clean water every two or three cleanings, but with the smaller dirty water tank, I need to do that with almost every cleaning. The app sends alerts when the tanks need to be addressed, and it keeps track of when components need to be replaced.
With heavy use, it would probably cost $100 a year to swap everything out. Three filters are $15, the main brush is $20, the mop roller is $30, three dust bags are $25, and the side brush is $15.
The other bit of maintenance that I have to do is moving the robot when it eats a rug, or gets something stuck in the brush. I had a little felt ball get caught once, but it's good enough at object detection that it's a rare occurrence. I haven't run into mechanical issues or performance problems with the exception of the robot's poor rug handling.
Ecovacs has a point system where you earn points for using the app's features, so there are discounts for accessories available. For any issues that arise, there is a one-year warranty.
Bottom Line
After a few months with the X9 Pro Omni, I have mixed feelings about it. It's $1,300, while the prior-generation X8 Pro Omni is $900 (currently on sale). I think the X9 Pro Omni and X8 Pro Omni are similar enough in performance that it's worth going with the more affordable model, unless you want some of the features that are unique to the updated version.
The X9 Pro Omni's dock is much more aesthetically pleasing, and the look is worth considering if it's going to be in a spot central to the home. I didn't notice a lot of difference in the cleaning ability between the X8 and X9 on wood floors, but I did appreciate the stronger force of the mop and some stains did seem to come up quicker. This version is supposed to be much better on carpet, so with carpet in the home, the upgrade is probably worth it.
If you already have an X8 Pro Omni, the X9 is not worth upgrading to, but if you're new to robot vacuums, it's a good one to get. The X8 and X9 Pro Omni from Ecovacs are both impressive vacuuming and mopping robots. With the exception of some poor performance on lightweight rugs, the X9 Pro Omni is an automated cleaning machine that requires little user interaction, and it just works. It does what Ecovacs says it will do, and it does it well.
I was skeptical about robot vacuums before I was able to try one, but now I am sold. This isn't a product that I want to be without because it saves me so much time and mental effort. I basically never have to think about cleaning my floors, and it's a job that just gets done.
I don't think Matter and HomeKit integration are necessary for a robot vacuum, but it's functionality that's nice to have if you use Siri for home tasks or want to set up complicated automations.
Heavily promoted Apple-produced film F1: The Movie is rolling out on the Apple TV app starting today, and it is available for purchase or rent in some countries.
Apple TV users in South Korea and Japan have reported seeing F1: The Movie available in the Apple TV store, but it does not appear to be available through the Apple TV+ streaming service as of yet.
In South Korea and Japan, it is already Friday, August 22, so it is possible that it won't be available in the U.S. until midnight Eastern time.
F1: The Movie launched in theaters on June 27, and it had a highly successful box office run. The film earned more than $500 million globally, making it Apple's highest-grossing theatrical release to date. Apple did a second theatrical run in August.
Ahead of when F1 launched in theaters, there was a relentless advertising campaign from Apple and other companies featured in the film. Apple ran ads on YouTube, sent Apple CEO Tim Cook and Brad Pitt to Apple Fifth Avenue, put a guide in the Maps app for well-known F1 racetracks, and even put ads for the movie in the built-in Wallet app and the Sports app, frustrating iPhone users.
It is not yet clear when F1: The Movie will be available for Apple TV+ subscribers.
Apple today provided public beta testers with updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, allowing them to test the new AirPods features in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware is only available to public beta testers and developers at the current time, and a device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26 is required to install the update. The firmware has a build number of 8A5343a, up from 8A5324b, and it is the same firmware that was provided to developers earlier this week.
The firmware adds several features that Apple is debuting alongside iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.
The AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 support improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There's also an option to use the AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording.
With iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe, Apple added a beta firmware update installation option that's available from the AirPods settings interface when the AirPods are connected to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, which facilitates the beta testing.
The New York Times' Tripp Mickle today reported that "nine current and former employees" who worked with or for Apple's Vice President of Fitness Technologies Jay Blahnik have accused him of creating a "toxic work environment."
The affected employees said Blahnik "could be verbally abusive, manipulative and inappropriate," according to the report.
"His behavior contributed to decisions by more than 10 workers to seek extended mental health or medical leaves of absence since 2022," the report said. One former employee on the team said she "never worked anywhere more toxic."
Apple spokesperson Lance Lin told The New York Times that the report contains "many inaccurate claims and mischaracterizations."
"We strongly disagree with the premise of this story, and there are many inaccurate claims and mischaracterizations," said Lin, without providing any specific examples. "We will continue to share the facts through the legal process."
Apple settled a complaint alleging sexual harassment by Blahnik, and it is defending him in another lawsuit over allegations of bullying, according to the report.
Blahnik continues to work at Apple after an internal investigation found "no evidence of wrongdoing," according to the report. The story cites a legal filing in which Apple denied any "harassment, discrimination, retaliation or any other harm." He joined Apple in 2013, after years of being a consultant at Nike. He played a key role in the creation of the Apple Watch's Activity rings and the Apple Fitness+ subscription service.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple today announced it will be opening a new retail store at the Phoenix Mall of Asia in Bengaluru, India, on Tuesday, September 2.
"Namaskara, Bengaluru," says Apple. "Your first Apple Store is getting ready to open its doors. We're so excited to see you start something wonderful at Apple Hebbal."
To celebrate the new store, Apple has shared a special wallpaper for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The wallpaper can be downloaded on the store's page for a limited time, or you can use the direct links provided in the previous sentence.
Apple Hebbal will be the company's third retail store in India, alongside Apple Saket in New Delhi and Apple BKC in Mumbai. As we previously reported, Apple is also preparing to open new stores at the KOPA Mall in Pune and at the DLF Mall of India in Noida later this year, but it has yet to officially announce those two locations.
The store's glass facade is currently covered by a wrapper with a similar design as the wallpaper, so we cannot see what it looks like. However, many of the newer stores include an Apple Pickup station for in-store pickup of online orders, and a Genius Bar with varied table and seat heights for improved accessibility. Apple's newer stores also use more engineered wood, whereas classic stores made extensive use of stainless steel.
India is an increasingly important market for Apple for both sales and manufacturing, with the company reportedly boosting iPhone production in the country, as part of its supply chain diversification efforts. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the majority of the iPhones sold in the U.S. last quarter were imported from India.
Apple today raised the monthly price of its Apple TV+ streaming service to $12.99 in the U.S., according to 9to5Mac's Benjamin Mayo.
Apple TV+ cost just $4.99 per month in the U.S. when it launched in 2019, but the price has now increased three times. The price went up to $6.99 per month in 2022, and then to $9.99 per month in 2023, and now the service costs $12.99 per month. The latest price increase applies to select other countries too.
An annual subscription to Apple TV+ will continue to cost $99 in the U.S., and Apple One bundle prices are not changing, the report said.
The new price is effective immediately for new Apple TV+ subscribers, but various free trial options remain available. For existing subscribers, the price increase will take effect 30 days after their next renewal date, the report said.
In a statement shared with 9to5Mac, Apple attempted to justify the price increase by noting that it has continued to expand its library of original content, and it touted the value of its Apple One plans with multiple Apple services.
Many other streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix have raised prices in recent years.
MacRumors readers can get 20 percent off a collection of Anker's best charging accessories this month. In order to get this deal, head to Anker's website and add an accessory to your cart, then enter the code Ankermacrumors2025 at checkout to see the discount.
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Our exclusive 20 percent off code works on most accessories sitewide, including Anker's "high power" charging accessories. This exclusive discount code does not stack with existing discounts on Anker's website, but it can be used on multiple items in the same cart.
In the lists below, we've collected a few examples of the best products available at a discount with our exclusive promo code, but remember that it works sitewide. It's also worth noting that Anker is hosting a back to school sale, and some of the discounts in that event are steeper than our 20 percent sitewide discount. Be sure to check and compare both discounts in your cart before you place your order to ensure you have the best deal.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Chinese smartphone maker Vivo on Thursday unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the "Vivo Vision," and the photocopiers in Dongguan appear to have been working overtime.
The device "launched" as an in-store experience across mainland China today, featuring design elements that clearly ape Apple's Vision Pro. It's got a curved glass front visor, downward-pointing cameras, removable fabric light seals in four sizes, eight foam padding options, a knitted rear strap, and an aluminum external battery pack connected via a braided cable. The Vivo Vision "Explorer Edition" even offers support for 1.5-degree eye tracking and 26 degrees depth of field for gesture-based navigation.
To its credit, Vivo's clone has some competitive specifications. The dual 8K micro-LED displays provide 3,840 × 3,552 pixels per eye – slightly higher than the Vision Pro's resolution – and offers 180-degree panoramic field of view. At 398 grams, it's significantly lighter than Apple's 650-gram device. Vivo also claims its headset is 26 percent smaller than the "industry average."
As for software, the headset runs on OriginOS Vision, Vivo's in-house mixed reality operating system, which is said to offer ultra-low latency of just 13ms. As you'd expect, it supports recording 3D videos, spatial photos, and spatial audio. Users can also immerse themselves in a 120-inch cinema screen.
Pricing is expected at around 10,000 yuan (roughly $1,395), which is well below Apple's Vision Pro $3,499 starting price. Pre-orders are now open for the device, although Vivo has yet to confirm availability details, giving Apple plenty of time to consider its legal options.
Joking aside, this isn't the first Chinese Apple knock-off that we've seen by a long stretch, plus there's no indication that Vivo's headset is coming to international markets beyond China. The Vision Pro has sold poorly anyway, so the impact on Apple's bottom line is likely to be minimal.
Apple is currently working on a next-generation version of the Vision Pro with an M5 chip, based on code discovered by MacRumors. The refreshed Vision Pro isn't expected to feature any design changes or hardware updates aside from the new chip, but it could get a new strap that will make it more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. The Vision Pro 2 with M5 chip could launch as soon as late 2025.
Medical technology company Masimo on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection in which it challenged the agency's decision to allow Apple to restore blood oxygen monitoring to its Apple Watch models (via Bloomberg Law).
In a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Masimo said that Customs acted unlawfully when it ruled on August 1 that Apple can import watches with pulse oximetry technology – a reversal of the agency's decision from last year – without notifying Masimo. Masimo said it only discovered the ruling on August 14, when Apple publicly announced it would be reintroducing the pulse oximetry functionality through a software update.
The medical device maker claims Customs and Border Protection exceeded its authority when it issued the ruling permitting Apple's redesigned approach. Apple's workaround offloads blood oxygen calculations from the Apple Watch to a paired iPhone, where it performs similar functionality to what the ITC originally judged to have infringed Masimo's patents.
Masimo is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the Customs decision. "CBP's function is to enforce ITC exclusion orders, not to create loopholes that render them ineffective," Masimo said.
The dispute originates from an International Trade Commission ruling in December 2023 that found Apple's blood oxygen sensors infringed Masimo's patents, leading to an import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models that have the feature enabled.
Apple paused sales in the U.S. for several days before resuming them on January 18, 2024. The Series 9 and Ultra 2 models then went back on the market without blood oxygen monitoring, up until Apple's release of iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 last week, which shifted the feature's calculations to paired iPhones.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed Safari Technology Preview to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser.
Safari Technology Preview 226 includes fixes and updates for CSS, Canvas, JavaScript, Media, Rendering, Deprecations, SVG, Storage, Web API, Web Extensions, and Web Inspector.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is compatible with machines running macOS Sequoia and macOS Tahoe, the newest version of macOS that's set to launch this later this year.
The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser from Apple’s website. Complete release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.
Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
Google introduced its next-generation Pixel 10 smartphones today, and while there are multiple hardware improvements, Google focused heavily on new AI features. The Pixel 10 devices offer quite a few new AI-powered capabilities, in addition to prior AI features that have come out over the last couple of years.
We've rounded up the new features, some of which the iPhone already supports, and some of which the iPhone can't do yet.
Magic Cue - Magic Cue proactively surfaces relevant info and suggests actions, similar to how Apple's personalized Siri features were supposed to work. It can display flight information when you call an airline, or cue up a photo if a friend asks for an image.
Daily Hub - Daily Hub uses Magic Cue to surface a personalized daily digest of upcoming calendar events, topics to explore, recommended playlists, and more.
Call Transcripts - The Take a Message feature in the Phone app provides real-time transcripts for missed or declined calls. Apple already provides real-time transcripts for incoming voicemails.
Pixel Journal - Pixel Journal provides AI writing prompts to help users process their thoughts, and it provides insights into patterns and progress over time. Apple has a similar Journal app that offers journaling suggestions.
Voice Translate - Voice Translate translates calls in real-time in what sounds like each speaker's voice. It's similar to Apple's Live Translation features, but that doesn't mimic user voices. Voice Translate also supports more languages when translating to or from English, including Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, and Indonesian.
Camera Coach - Camera Coach can provide real-time guidance to help users capture better images. It suggests tips on lighting, composition, and more.
Auto Best Take - Analyzes up to 150 frames in seconds to get the perfect group shot where everyone is looking at the camera.
Add Me - The image feature that can add the photographer to a group shot using AI has been improved. It works with bigger groups and offers more creative composition options.
AI Videos - The Pixel devices can generate a video based on short text descriptions.
Visual Guidance for Gemini Live - Gemini Live allows for real-time conversations with Gemini AI. It's already able to converse and get context from the camera or screen sharing, but it now highlights things on the display to provide better visual guidance when responding to questions.
More natural speech - Gemini Live is getting more human-like speech, with improvements to intonation, rhythm, and pitch for more expressive conversations. It will be able to speaker slower or faster when asked, and it can do accents.
Gboard - The Google keyboard supports Writing Tools for spellchecking, plus it can rewrite in specific styles. Apple has a similar Writing Tools feature that supports grammar and spelling correction and rewrites in a specified style.
Google Photos - Google Photos is getting conversation-based photo editing.
NotebookLM - Google's AI research assistant integrates with Pixel Screenshots and Recorder. If Screenshots detects a picture that's useful for a notebook, it will suggest adding it for simpler tracking. Transcripts from Recorder can also be added.
Gemini Nano - The Tensor G5 chip in the Pixel 10 smartphones runs the newest Gemini Nano model on-device.
Apple will be able to match some of these features when the updated version of Siri rolls out in 2026, but it is behind on image editing features and live AI capabilities since there is no dedicated Apple-designed LLM as of now.
Google's updated Pixel 10 devices are available for pre-order now, and will be launching later this month. Apple's iPhone 17 models will debut in September.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
