Benjamin and Chance recap the newly announced lineup of iPads and Macs. The new iPad Air and base iPad offer even better value for money, while Apple pushes the performance edge with the surprising launch of the M3 Ultra in the Mac Studio, and makes the best MacBook yet with the new M4 MacBook Air. Also, iOS 18.4 beta 2 brings even more new features to discuss.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Apple takes a swing at a home run with a trio of baseball content announcements. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Apple’s new MacBook Air is here, headlined by an M4 chip upgrade and a lower price. There are a few other tidbits you should know.

When we look back on the iPhone 16e years from now, the thing we’ll all remember is that it was the first iPhone to use Apple’s own modem.

Even though the two companies have a testy relationship, Apple has historically relied on Qualcomm for modems. The C1 chip in the iPhone 16e is Apple’s first step toward breaking up with Qualcomm.

Qualcomm, however, says it’s not worried about the competition posed by Apple’s foray into modems…

It turns out there’s something in the air today, too. Apple has unveiled a new Mac Studio, the second revamp to the desktop powerhouse that it launched in 2022. The new Mac Studio is available in two chip configurations: the M4 Max and the M3 Ultra.

Apple’s Beats brand has unveiled another limited-edition version of its Solo 4 headphones. This time around, Beats is teaming up with New York designer Sandy Liang for a “playful, nostalgic aesthetic alongside Beats’ top quality look and sound.”

There’s something in the air today, and it turns out it’s a new iPad Air. Apple has officially unveiled an updated iPad Air powered by the M3 chip. There’s also a new Magic Keyboard to go along with it and an updated version of the base iPad.

iOS 18.4 beta 2 is now available for developer testers, just over a week after the first beta was released. iOS 18.4 beta 2 continues to make changes for iPhone users before the update’s public release in April. Head below for a full roundup of everything new in the latest iOS 18.4 beta.

Apple Maps EV routing is one of the most compelling CarPlay features, giving drivers a way to plan a route that automatically includes charging stops.

Now, it looks like iOS 18.4 will address one of the biggest limitations of Apple Maps EV routing…

In a new post on social media today, Tim Cook says Apple has a new product launch coming this week.

The short teaser video posted on X says: “There’s something in the Air.”

President Trump has chimed in on the UK’s attempt to force Apple to add a global backdoor to iCloud, likening the demand to “something that you hear about with China.”

Benjamin and Chance wrap up the iPhone 16e reviews that dropped this week, and bemoan the UK forcing Apple to remove Advanced Data Protection in the region, before turning their attention to the fun news of the week that is the new beta season. iOS 18.4 and visionOS 2.4 include a bunch of features, from new Apple Intelligence updates to an entirely Food section in News+.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin finally has a new standing desk set up. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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In a new whitepaper published today, Apple outlined several tools it already offers to parents and developers to “help enhance child safety while safeguarding privacy. This includes Screen Time, Find My, Communication Saftey, Communication Limits, and more.

Over this year, Apple is introducing new features to build on its commitment to user privacy, security, and safety for children:

• Make it even easier for parents to set up Child Accounts that underlie many of our parental controls.
• Put parents in control by allowing them to share information about the age range of their kids with apps to enable developers to provide only age-appropriate content, all without needing to share their birthdate or other sensitive information. 
• And further enhance parents’ insight and control over their kids’ experiences by updating our age ratings, adding more useful information on product pages, and making browsing safer on the App Store.

One of the most exciting times of the year for Apple fans is swiftly approaching. WWDC is held every June as Apple’s showcase for the next year of its software platforms. This year, Apple will announce iOS 19, watchOS 11, macOS 16, and more at WWDC.

When will Apple announce and hold WWDC 2025? Here’s what history tells us …

Apple says that “phonetic overlap” is to blame for a peculiar glitch in the iPhone’s dictation feature.

Over the last several days, the “bug” has gained traction on various social networks including TiKTok. In one video on TikTok, you can see an iPhone user using the built-in dictation feature to clearly say the word “racist,” only for the iPhone to moementarily transcribe it as “Trump.” The transcription quickly corrects itself before being finalized.

Dark Noise developer Charlie Chapman is out with a new Mac utility called “Framous.” The app aims to be the best way to add device frames to screenshots.

Apple is holding its annual shareholder meeting today as investors vote on several proposals and hear updates from CEO Tim Cook.

Most notably, Apple shareholders rejected an outside proposal calling for the company to end its DEI initiatives.

Apple has released the first developer beta of iOS 18.4. While it’s missing some of the most impressive Apple Intelligence features, it includes a ton of other new features and changes. Head below for our full roundup of everything new in iOS 18.4…

Apple today announced that it has removed its Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK. The decision comes after the UK government ordered Apple to build a worldwide backdoor into iCloud encryption. Instead of complying with that order, Apple chose to remove the feature in the UK.

There’s a huge piece of nuance getting missed in a lot of the coverage of today’s announcement. Apple is not “removing end-to-end encryption” from the UK as some headlines have suggested. The company is removing the Advanced Data Protection feature, yes, but that feature exists separately from Apple’s broader end-to-end encryption efforts.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 18.4 today, which comes with a big upgrade to the Apple News app. Apple News+ Food is a new section in the Apple News app that includes thousands of curated recipes from some of the biggest names in food publishing.

Apple is releasing the first beta of visionOS 2.4 today, and it just might be the biggest update yet for Apple Vision Pro users. The update will add support for Apple Intelligence, major improvements to Guest Mode, a new Spatial Gallery app, an Apple Vision Pro app for iPhone, and more. Here’s everything you need to know…

“Apple Vision Pro is helping users communicate, collaborate, and experience entertainment in entirely new ways — and we’re continuing to push the boundaries of what’s possible in spatial computing with visionOS 2.4,” said Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of the Vision Products Group. “With Apple Intelligence, Vision Pro users will be able to take their productivity and creativity to new heights using features like Writing Tools, Image Playground, and Genmoji. And we’re excited for users to discover and share incredible new experiences with Spatial Gallery.”