An upcoming book Apple in China promises to tell the story of how a seemingly smart idea back in 1996 now leaves the company hostage to the whims of an authoritarian regime.

Subtitled “the capture of the world’s greatest company,” the book features interviews with more than 200 former Apple execs and engineers, and says it acts as both a historical account and a cautionary tale …

WhatsApp currently offers a feature that helps users plan events from group chats. Soon, this feature will be expanded to private chats as well, giving WhatsApp users more flexibility to create and manage their appointments.

A week after releasing iOS 18.3 to the public, Apple has now stopped signing iOS 18.2.1. For users, this means that they can no longer downgrade to this version of the operating system if their iPhone or iPad is already running a newer version.

Ever wish your MacBook wouldn’t boot up every time you open the lid or connect it to power? Apple has published an official support document detailing how to disable the feature.

Apple isn’t the only big tech facing antitrust investigations as Google has also come under scrutiny for its dominant position in the market. Even the deal between Google and Apple over Safari’s default search engine was considered a violation of antitrust laws, and a court has now ruled that Apple cannot intervene in the case.

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Microsoft is updating Outlook for Mac to include one of the best new features Apple has added to Mail in recent years. The update also brings Outlook for Mac up to speed with the Windows and web version when it comes to this capability.

Apple Notes gained a variety of great features in iOS 18 last fall, like collapsible sections, color highlighting, audio recording with transcripts, and more. But I recently discovered one more change that answers one of my long-time feature requests, and could satisfy a lot of power users.

Following Thursday’s announcement, Gemini 2.0 Flash is now appearing in the Gemini app on Android and iOS. 

Four years after the first AirTag debuted, Apple is planning to ship its successor later this year. When AirTag 2 arrives, it will include one feature in particular that could have the biggest impact—for both Apple and users.

Both Apple and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney have provided responses below…

Apple has been legally required to approve a pornography app for iPhone users in EU markets due to regulatory actions put in place by Europe’s Digital Markets Act. Since launching the App Store in 2008, Apple’s policy has been to prevent apps explicitly for distributing pornography from being listed in the App Store.

Apple announced a few months ago that Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime show on February 6th. Last night at the Grammys, Kendrick Lamar was able to add an additional five Grammys to his now total of 22! Given his current popularity, Apple has added a few Kendrick Lamar-themed workouts for its Fitness+ subscribers.

Apple released a single version of its MagSafe battery a few years ago but was never upgraded or replaced. It eventually was removed for sale. It was a great product, and I wish it had stayed around. It was never designed to be the biggest battery, but it was great for getting through a heavy-use day. That’s exactly what the offers. It’s what I envision a modern Apple MagSafe battery would look like.

Have an iPhone 11? Apple just released a new build of last week’s iOS 18.3 software update just for you.

iOS 18.3 build 22D64 is now available for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The five-year-old model received the same update to iOS 18.3 last week as other iPhone models. The new build suggests something specific to the iPhone 11 line needed resolved with a new build.

Apple is reportedly about to launch a new iCloud-based service, codenamed Confetti, that’s tied to the iOS 18.3 Calendar app. Here are three advantages Apple’s offering could provide over its competition.

After a steady string of iPad mini, M2 iPad Air, and M4 iPad Pro deals to kick the year off, we are now seeing our first chances to save big on the latest AirPods releases. Amazon has now dropped the AirPods 4 down to a new $100 all-time low there while the lauded AirPods Pro 2 have now dropped from the $249 regular list price to $170 shipped. Those offers join a $210 price drop on a couple different M4/Pro MacBook Pro configs as well as up to $299 off the gorgeous Apple 5K Studio Display lineup. You’ll also find a $100 price drop on Sonos Ace headphones, Beats deals, Anker Apple Watch power banks, and more.

YouTube appears to be removing the “Guest” profile from its TV apps, starting on Apple TV and Roku.

Apple positioned the iPhone 16 as the first model “built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence.” But until the company shared iPhone sales numbers, we didn’t know whether customers would care or not. Now, the answer seems clear.

Apple TV+ is over five years old now, and in its early days series were rarely canceled—but that’s started to change. The cancellation I’ve been most disappointed by is Schmigadoon!, but now it seems the show is getting new life thanks to a stage adaptation.

New Orleans music students attending the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (EMCM) are required to learn coding as part of their curriculum, due to a collaboration with Apple.

Another mandatory course at the music school – no matter which primary instrument students have chosen to learn – is piano …