Following the abrupt discontinuation of Apple Pay Later over the summer, Apple has been rolling out support for multiple third-party ‘pay over time’ alternatives. The latest Apple Pay addition: Synchrony.

TikTok’s US saga is almost at an end, and its last major source of hope—a Supreme Court intervention—now looks unlikely to pan out. Thus, a January 19 ban in the US is looking more realistic than ever. Here’s the latest.

When it comes to smart home lighting, you have two main options: smart lightbulbs or smart outlet adapters paired with traditional lamps. Both have their place, but for me, smart bulbs offer more flexibility and control. Unlike outlet adapters, which toggle power on and off, smart bulbs give you control over brightness, color, and even dynamic scenes. If you want to take the next step in building your smart home in 2025, a set of Matter-compatible lightbulbs might be the perfect place to start. This week, I am looking at the .

A new Apple Store is opening at Miami Worldcenter this month, and Apple has shared wallpaper downloads to celebrate the occasion. Here are the details.

After the significant releases of iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2, Apple’s latest developer beta release – iOS 18.3 beta 2 – is shaping up to be significantly less eventful in terms of user-facing features and changes. However, there are things under the hood that may hint to what to expect from future iOS software and hardware. In this first episode of iOS Decoded, we take a deeper dive into iOS 18.3. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future installments.

At CES 2025, MacPaw unveiled a new version of CleanMyMac for small and medium businesses. You interact with it differently than traditional CleanMyMac, but you still get the same suite of tools to help maintain your Mac. CleanMyMac Business focuses on affordability, ease, and transparency.

Alongside ongoing deals on M3 MacBook Air with hundreds in savings, we are now ready to cap off this week’s best Apple deals with first sizable price drop on AirPods Pro 2 of 2025. Apple’s flagship buds are now at the best price we have tracked since early December at $180, down from the regular $249. That offer joins the return of wild pricing on the official Apple Watch braided and silicone Solo Loops starting from just $20 with up to 70% off the original prices, not to mention a series of MacBook covers, Find My accessories, and much more. Head below for a closer look. 

Now that a new year has kicked off, rumors for the upcoming iPhone 17 line are in full swing. Today, Ming-Chi Kuo has shared a new detail on the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air that reveals how surprisingly thin it may be.

Apple’s kicking off a new Home products strategy this year, and an Apple Television is reportedly being evaluated as a future product. Recent trends in the TV space reveal how much opportunity there is for Apple to disrupt the market with a new product and better direction.

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A new report from Check Point Research details how a new variant of the infamous Banshee stealer malware from Russian-speaking cybercriminals takes a page from Apple’s own security practices to evade detection. The malware remained undetected for over two months by cleverly incorporating the same encryption methods as Mac’s XProtect antivirus detection suite.

If you’re an avid reader of Security Bite, you’ve heard me say (more than once) that malware stealers, usually through malware-as-a-service (MaaS) business models, are currently the largest threat to Mac users. They’re destructive, targeting your iCloud Keychain passwords, cryptocurrency wallets, sensitive information from files, and even system passwords like a stealthy low-orbiting ion canon. Cybercriminals will often embed this malicious code in seemingly legitimate applications as a ploy to infect machines.

Apple Arcade is welcoming the new year with ten new games, seven of them launching today. The remainder – which includes PGA TOUR Pro Golf – will be available from February 6 …

If you have an iPhone 14 or later, you can send text messages via satellite where cellular service is unavailable. This can be particularly valuable in emergency situations like the Los Angeles wildfires, where cellphone masts have been damaged or destroyed.

T-Mobile and Starlink have now teamed up to offer the same capability to owners of phones without this feature …

Sports in the streaming era is a messy affair, and Venu Sports is a prime example of that. The planned new streaming bundle from Disney, FOX, and Warner Bros was going to launch last fall, but it’s now been canceled before even having the chance to arrive.

Apple likes to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a specially-commissioned Shot on iPhone video, and an unofficial copy of this year’s short film has been posted ahead of the official reveal expected later today. The lunar new year begins on January 29.

The 12-minute short musical film entitled I Want to Listen to You is directed by Michael Gracey, who previously directed the Hollywood musical film The Greatest Showman …

The greatest attraction for me about Vision Pro is being able to have huge virtual monitors for both work and entertainment, but the downside is the discomfort of wearing one for an extended time. The Brelyon Ultra Reality Extend is a funky new monitor tech that aims to solve this problem.

You don’t have to wear anything – just sit in front of a monitor, which can project a virtual display as wide as 122 inches from a much smaller physical display …

A leaker with a good track record on iPhone camera improvements has lent their support to a report that the 12MP front-facing camera in current iPhones will be upgraded to 24MP in the iPhone 17 line-up. They also endorse the suggestion that all three rear cameras in the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have 48MP sensors.

The latest report goes a little further, however, and suggests that this year’s upgrade to the 5x telephoto camera sensor will apply to the iPhone 17 Pro as well as the Pro Max …

Throughout the ongoing wildfires, California officials have relied on emergency alerts to communicate with citizens. This system is an important way for officials to communicate with citizens instantly across iPhone and Android devices.

On Thursday evening, however, a wildfire evacuation alert went out to everyone in Los Angeles – even though it was only meant for a subset of residents.

Apple’s popular “Back to School” campaign is officially returning for customers in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, offering free accessories for students and educators purchasing new Apple products in these countries.

Many streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and even Apple TV+ already provide support for the HDR10+ standard. Soon, Disney+ will also join this list of platforms offering content in this high dynamic range format.