MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://www.macrumors.com Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mac News and Rumors Thu, 30 Apr 2026 07:51:15 PDT en hourly 1 https://www.macrumors.com Apple Watch Series 11 Hits $100 Off Nearly Every GPS Aluminum Model, Plus $130 Off Cellular https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/30/apple-watch-series-11-100-off-5/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-watch-series-11-hits-100-off-nearly-every-gps-aluminum-model-plus-130-off-cellular.2481719/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 07:11:57 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/30/apple-watch-series-11-100-off-5/ Mitchel Broussard Deals Featured all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11, with up to $130 off numerous models of the smartwatch. This sale includes nearly every aluminum model of the Series 11 on sale at a record low price, plus new steep markdowns on cellular models.

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 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 11 for $299.00, down from $399.00, and the 46mm GPS model for $329.00, down from $429.00. On Amazon, you'll find four of both the 42mm and 46mm GPS models on sale at these all-time low prices.

$100 OFF
Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) for $299.00

$100 OFF
Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm GPS) for $329.00


A new highlight of Series 11 deals is on the 46mm cellular model, which has hit $399.00, down from $529.00. This is a big $130 discount on the cellular Apple Watch, and it's available in three colors. You'll also find $100 off the 42mm cellular model right now.

$100 OFF
Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm Cell) for $399.00

$130 OFF
Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm Cell) for $399.00


Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.



Deals Newsletter


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]]> Apple Launched AirTag 5 Years Ago Today https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/30/apple-launched-airtag-5-years-ago-today/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-launched-airtag-5-years-ago-today.2481715/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:51:11 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/30/apple-launched-airtag-5-years-ago-today/ Hartley Charlton AirTag AirTag item tracker turns five years old today, with the $29 accessory having spent half a decade as the best-selling item tracker in the world.



The ‌AirTag‌ launched on April 30, 2021, alongside the M1 iMac, a new iPad Pro, and a new Apple TV 4K. The coin-shaped accessory has a polished stainless steel back, IP67 water resistance, and a U1 Ultra Wideband chip that powers Precision Finding, a feature that combines haptic, visual, and audio feedback to guide users to a lost item's precise location with the iPhone 11 and later.

Setup works by bringing the tag close to an iPhone, with each ‌AirTag‌ appearing in the Items tab of the Find My app. The ‌Find My‌ network, which relies on Bluetooth signals from nearby Apple devices to relay location data, allows a lost item to be tracked even when out of direct range. The ‌AirTag‌ is priced at $29 for a single tag or $99 for a four-pack, with free engraving available.

Reports of the AirTag being misused for stalking and vehicle theft surfaced within months of launch, with its small size, low price, and the breadth of the ‌Find My‌ network making it an attractive tool for bad actors. Apple released a statement in February 2022 saying incidents of misuse were "rare; however, each instance is one too many," and introduced setup warnings making clear that using an ‌AirTag‌ to track people without consent is a crime in many regions.

A class-action lawsuit filed in California in December 2022, later expanded to include more than three dozen plaintiffs, alleged that the product's accuracy and affordability made it well-suited for misuse, and a federal judge allowed certain claims to move forward in March 2024. Apple and Google later aligned on cross-platform specifications so that Android users receive automatic unwanted tracking alerts alongside iPhone users.

Despite the controversy, Apple says the ‌AirTag‌ became its best-selling item tracking accessory, citing user stories of recovering lost luggage, bicycles, and bags in the years since launch.

Apple released the second-generation AirTag in January 2026. The updated model features a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip with Precision Finding working from up to 50% farther away, an upgraded Bluetooth chip, and a speaker 50% louder than the original. For the first time, Precision Finding also works with Apple Watch Series 9 models and later. A teardown revealed that the speaker magnet is more firmly secured in the second-generation model, making it harder to remove, a modification that had previously been used to silence unwanted tracking alerts. Pricing remains $29 for a single tag and $99 for a four-pack.
Related Roundup: AirTag
Buyer's Guide: AirTag (Buy Now)

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]]> YouTube Bringing Free Picture-in-Picture to iPhone Users Outside the U.S. https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/youtube-picture-in-picture-expands/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/youtube-bringing-free-picture-in-picture-to-iphone-users-outside-the-u-s.2481703/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:01:14 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/youtube-picture-in-picture-expands/ Juli Clover YouTube iPad is expanding to more users worldwide, YouTube said today. Picture-in-picture (PiP) will be rolling out globally, so it will no longer be limited to those in the U.S. and Premium subscribers.


Non-Premium users worldwide will be able to use PiP for longform, non-music content on iOS and Android. This has already been available in the U.S. and to Premium subscribers globally, so there will be no change for those users.

Premium Lite members can still use PiP for longform, non-music content, and Premium members can use PiP for music and non-music content.

Picture-in-picture shrinks a video into a small player that can be used alongside other apps. To use PiP, swipe up to exit the YouTube app, and the video will continue to play in a small window that can be moved anywhere on the display.

The PiP changes are rolling out "in the coming months," according to YouTube.
Tag: YouTube

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]]> Google Photos to Get AI 'Wardrobe' Feature https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/google-photos-ai-wardrobe/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/google-photos-to-get-ai-wardrobe-feature.2481702/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:50:51 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/google-photos-ai-wardrobe/ Juli Clover Google Google Photos Photos Photos is getting a new wardrobe planning feature that will help you decide what to wear. AI will pull in images of clothing from the Google ‌Photos‌ library, organizing clothing items into a digital closet. You will be able to put items together to create outfits, and even virtually try them with a digital avatar on to see how they'll look.


The Google ‌Photos‌ app will show all items of clothing in a new Wardrobe section in the Collections tab. Clothing can also be viewed in specific categories like tops or bottoms. Items of clothing can be mixed and matched to create outfits, and the results can be shared with friends or saved to a digital moodboard.


In the popular 1995 comedy Clueless, main character Cher Horowitz has an iconic digital wardrobe that Google seems to be making a reality with Google ‌Photos‌. Cher uses a touchscreen computer to swipe through the clothes in her wardrobe, pairing different tops and bottoms to create an outfit. A built-in "Dress Me" button tells her if two items go together, and if they do, she can preview the clothes on a digital version of herself.

Google's version of the Clueless virtual wardrobe will be coming to Google ‌Photos‌ this summer. Google says it will be available to Android users first, and then iOS users.
Tags: Google, Google Photos, Photos

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]]> Apple's AI Smart Glasses Likely to Support Hand Gesture Controls https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-ai-smart-glasses-gesture-control/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-ai-smart-glasses-likely-to-support-hand-gesture-controls.2481699/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:45:24 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-ai-smart-glasses-gesture-control/ Juli Clover Featured Apple Smart Glasses MacRumors has learned a few more details about Apple's work on the device from an inside source.


The AI glasses will include two cameras. A high-resolution camera will be included for capturing photos and videos that can be shared on social media and used like iPhone photos. A second lower-resolution wide-angle lens will read hand gestures and provide visual input for Siri.

Apple uses hand gesture-based input for the Vision Pro, and rumors suggest the AirPods Pro will be updated with low-resolution cameras and support for gestures as well. Apple appears to be leaning into gesture support, and it's an ideal input method when no screen is available to interact with.

While future versions of the smart glasses could include an integrated display for augmented reality features, the first version will have no display at all. Apple will not include a screen, LiDAR, 3D cameras, or other similar technology because such features are too energy-intensive.

Battery life is a major constraint because Apple needs to keep the glasses slim and lightweight. Battery size is the bottleneck behind the hardware decisions that Apple is making, and it's why Apple is opting for a stripped-down feature set.

According to recent rumors, Apple is testing multiple styles for the smart glasses, with plans to use acetate. Acetate is a lightweight plant-based material that's more flexible than plastic.

Apple's smart glasses will incorporate the smarter version of ‌Siri‌ that Apple plans to introduce in iOS 27. The device will be able to take photos, record video, and make phone calls, plus users will be able to interact with ‌Siri‌ to ask questions about what's around them. The feature set will be similar to the features available in the Meta Ray-Bans that Apple is aiming to compete with.

Rumors suggest Apple could preview the glasses later this year, with a launch to follow in 2027, though it's also possible we won't see them announced until 2027.
Tag: Apple Smart Glasses

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]]> Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-vision-pro-m5-flop/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-has-given-up-on-the-vision-pro-after-m5-refresh-flop.2481691/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:08:23 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-vision-pro-m5-flop/ Juli Clover Vision Pro MacRumors has learned. Apple updated the Vision Pro with a faster M5 chip and a more comfortable band in October 2025, but there were no other hardware changes, and consumers still weren't interested.


The Vision Pro has been criticized for its high price tag and its uncomfortable weight. The device is over 1.3 pounds, and even with the more comfortable Dual Knit Band that Apple added to redistribute weight, it continues to be hard to wear for long periods of time. The M5 chip added a 120Hz refresh rate, 10 percent more rendered pixels, and around 30 additional minutes of battery life, but the price tag stayed at $3,499, and it ended up not selling well.

The Vision Pro has been unpopular since it first launched, and Apple only sold around 600,000 units in total. Insider sources told MacRumors that Apple has received an unusually high percentage of returns, far exceeding any other modern Apple product.

Apple has apparently stopped work on the Vision Pro and the Vision Pro team has been redistributed to other teams within Apple. Some former Vision Pro team members are working on Siri, which is not a surprise as Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell has been leading the Siri team since March 2025.

There have been mixed rumors about a new Vision Pro over the last couple of years, with Apple rumored to be working on a lighter-weight Vision Air that's much cheaper, but the project was stopped last year. If Apple finds a way to create a much cheaper, more comfortable VR headset in the future, the Vision Pro line could be revived, but right now, the company has no plans to launch a new model. Apple has not discontinued the Vision Pro and is continuing to sell the M5 model.

Instead of continuing to experiment with virtual reality, Apple is working on smart glasses that will eventually incorporate augmented reality capabilities, but the first version will be similar to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with AI and no integrated display.

Apple has not been able to use the technology developed for the Vision Pro in its smart glasses because that tech draws too much power for a smaller, lighter device.
Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

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]]> Apple Has Likely Abandoned 'iPad Ultra' Plans https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-likely-abandoned-ipad-ultra-plans/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-has-likely-abandoned-ipad-ultra-plans.2481687/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:30:14 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-likely-abandoned-ipad-ultra-plans/ Hartley Charlton iPad Pro Bloomberg Foldable iPad Instant Digital John Ternus Mark Gurman iPad Ultra" following years of disappointing sales performance for the iPad Pro.


The claim predominantly comes from the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," who posted the remark in response to a question about whether the ‌iPad‌ would join a rumored "Ultra" series of Apple devices. Instant Digital listed the Apple Watch Ultra, M-series Ultra chips, "iPhone Ultra," and "MacBook Ultra" with an OLED display as products in the pipeline, but explicitly excluded the ‌iPad‌ from that group, citing weak market performance for the ‌iPad Pro‌. They added that Apple now has "no plans" to release an ‌iPad‌ Ultra.

The ‌iPad Pro‌'s sales struggles are well documented. In October 2024, it was reported that shipment projections for the M4 ‌iPad Pro‌ had been significantly cut after weaker-than-expected demand following its launch earlier that year. DSCC analyst Ross Young lowered his full-year 2024 forecast from up to 10 million units to just 6.7 million, with shipments of the 13-inch model projected to fall by more than 50% and 90% in the third and fourth quarters respectively.

Young attributed the sluggish reception in part to the high price point, with the 11-inch model starting at $999 and the 13-inch at $1,299, levels that deter buyers who view tablets as secondary devices alongside a smartphone or laptop. ‌iPad‌ revenue has declined for three consecutive years, and the category accounted for just 6.73% of Apple's total revenue in 2025.

In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple has been developing a 20-inch foldable ‌iPad‌, describing the project as a priority for Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering and future Apple CEO John Ternus. Gurman noted, however, that the device "may end up being a wacky experiment that doesn't see the light of day, according to several people who have worked on it."

The rumored foldable ‌iPad‌ has a long and troubled development history. Last October, it emerged that engineering challenges tied to weight, features, and display technology had pushed Apple's target launch from 2028 to 2029 or later. The device was reportedly being developed with a large Samsung OLED display, with Apple focused on minimizing the visible crease, just like the upcoming foldable iPhone.

Prototype units reportedly weighed around 3.5 pounds, making them heavier than a 14-inch MacBook Pro and nearly three times the weight of a 13-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. The device could have been priced as high as $3,900, roughly triple the $1,299 starting price of the 13-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

There has also been uncertainty about how the product would be categorized. In March, Gurman noted that a "gigantic" foldable ‌iPad‌ would challenge Apple's tradition of keeping the Mac and ‌iPad‌ as separate product lines, with some internally describing it as a foldable ‌iPad‌ and others as an all-display MacBook. When closed, the device reportedly resembles a Mac, with an aluminum shell and no exterior display. The design is said to be similar to Huawei's MateBook Fold, an 18-inch foldable tablet currently priced at $3,400.

The reports come against a backdrop of Apple's rumored plans to expand its "Ultra" branding across multiple product lines. At least three Ultra devices are believed to be in the pipeline for this year alone: a foldable ‌iPhone Ultra‌ priced at around $2,000, AirPods Ultra with cameras for Visual Intelligence, and a MacBook Ultra featuring a touch-enabled OLED display priced up to 20% above the current ‌MacBook Pro‌ lineup. A source speaking to Macworld subsequently corroborated the ‌iPhone Ultra‌ and MacBook Ultra names.

Apple already applies the "Ultra" moniker to Apple Watch Ultra, M-series Ultra chips, and CarPlay Ultra. An ‌iPad‌ Ultra might seem like a natural fit for a family of higher-end, more experimental hardware at the top of each lineup, but with the ‌iPad Pro‌ already struggling to find buyers at its current price point, the question of whether sufficient demand exists for an even more expensive ‌iPad‌ may be answering itself.
Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tags: Bloomberg, Foldable iPad, Instant Digital, John Ternus, Mark Gurman
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)

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]]> iOS 27 Camera App to Get 'Siri' Mode With Nutrition Label Scanning https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/ios-27-camera-app-siri-mode/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-27-camera-app-to-get-siri-mode-with-nutrition-label-scanning.2481685/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:54:04 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/ios-27-camera-app-siri-mode/ Juli Clover Featured iOS 27 Siri Apple Intelligence and Siri into more of its apps in iOS 27, including the Camera app, reports Bloomberg. The ‌iOS 27‌ Camera app will have a dedicated ‌Siri‌ mode that will be available alongside the existing Photo, Video, Portrait, and Panorama modes. When in ‌Siri‌ mode, the existing Camera app shutter button will feature the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ logo, letting users know the ‌Siri‌ features are available.


‌Siri‌ mode will incorporate Visual Intelligence, making the feature more accessible. Right now, ‌Visual Intelligence‌ is activated by long pressing the Camera Control button, and it is a gesture that many people may not even be aware of.

In addition to being relocated to the Camera app with ‌Siri‌ branding, ‌Visual Intelligence‌ is also being updated with new features. It will be able to scan a nutrition label on food items to log the dietary information, plus users will be able to use it to add contact details for someone directly to the Contacts app.

MacRumors first discovered signs of the ‌Visual Intelligence‌ features in Apple code in mid-April. Here's a bit more on what we found:

  • Nutrition - Users will be able to scan nutrition labels on food packaging for calorie and macronutrient tracking using the Health app.

  • Contacts - ‌Visual Intelligence‌ will let users scan phone numbers and addresses on business cards and other print media, adding the information to the Contacts app.

  • Wallet - In the Wallet app, ‌Visual Intelligence‌ will capture information from physical event tickets and membership cards, generating digital versions.


Existing ‌Visual Intelligence‌ features will continue to be available, and it will be able to identify objects like plants and animals, add events to the Calendar app, and send visual information to ChatGPT and Google image search. Users will also be able to access the revamped ‌Visual Intelligence‌ through the Camera Control button, but it will open up to the ‌Siri‌ interface in the Camera app instead of the standalone ‌Visual Intelligence‌ experience that we have now.

Apple will introduce ‌iOS 27‌ at the Worldwide Developers Conference that's set to begin on June 8, 2026.
Related Roundup: iOS 27
Tag: Siri

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]]> Apple Reportedly Questioning Whether iPhone Should Drop MagSafe https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-questioning-iphone-magsafe/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-reportedly-questioning-whether-iphone-should-drop-magsafe.2481683/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:26:49 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/apple-questioning-iphone-magsafe/ Hartley Charlton Instant Digital MagSafe MagSafe should remain a standard iPhone feature.


The Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" says that when ‌MagSafe‌ was first introduced, the mood inside Apple was reportedly aggressive about its expansion. ‌MagSafe‌ for the iPhone was introduced with the iPhone 12 lineup in 2020, bringing a ring of magnets to the back of the device for snap-on charging and accessory attachment. The ecosystem has since expanded significantly, with dozens of third-party wallets, cases, stands, and chargers built around the standard.

There were purportedly even plans to bring built-in ‌MagSafe‌ magnets to the iPad lineup, something the leaker previously hinted at, though those plans never materialized. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman first reported in 2021 that Apple was testing a glass-backed iPad Pro that would support wireless charging, specifically noting that MagSalfe was under consideration. A follow-up report in early 2022 suggested Apple had prototyped an iPad Pro with a large glass Apple logo that would serve as the wireless charging area, an approach aimed at avoiding the fragility of an all-glass back. Neither design made it to a shipping product. The rumors resurfaced in late 2023, with reports suggesting that the then-upcoming iPad Pro could include MagSafe support, based on information from sources familiar with Apple's magnet suppliers. The redesigned M4 ‌iPad Pro‌ that launched in 2024 still shipped without the feature.

Now, Instant Digital claims that confidence around ‌MagSafe‌ has given way to uncertainty. The leaker says Apple is weighing the costs of including ‌MagSafe‌ magnets in the iPhone against the strength of the accessory ecosystem that has grown up around the feature, though the nature of the debate and what any change might look like remains unclear.

The iPhone 16e launched without ‌MagSafe‌, making it the first new iPhone in years to omit it. Many iPhone 16e owners, as well as users of older iPhones without built-in magnets, turned to third-party cases with embedded magnet rings as a workaround, though the experience is generally considered to be inferior to native ‌MagSafe‌ support. The decision nonetheless drew criticism, and Apple reversed course with the iPhone 17e, restoring ‌MagSafe‌ support when the device launched earlier this year.

There is no indication that ‌MagSafe‌ is at imminent risk of disappearing from the iPhone lineup. However, the upcoming foldable "iPhone Ultra" may be a different story. Dummy models of the device show no visible indentations for the internal magnet array that ‌MagSafe‌ requires, suggesting the feature could be absent at launch. The iPhone Ultra is rumored to be just 4.5mm thin when unfolded, and it is thought that the device may simply be too slim to accommodate the magnets. If that proves accurate, the ‌iPhone Ultra‌ would be both the most expensive iPhone ever, with a starting price rumored at around $2,000, and the first new high-end model to ship without ‌MagSafe‌ since the iPhone 11 Pro.

While the wording of Instant Digital's post is somewhat ambiguous, it raises the possibility that Apple could be at least considering pulling ‌MagSafe‌ from its standard iPhone models, potentially making it exclusive to higher-end devices. Recent reports suggest that the standard iPhone 18 is being downgraded to cut costs.

An alternative scenario could see Apple scale back its in-device ‌MagSafe‌ implementation, relying more heavily on cases with embedded magnets to provide compatibility, as many iPhone 16e users already do. Given that Qi2, the open wireless charging standard now widely adopted across the industry, is built directly on ‌MagSafe‌'s magnet ring specification, a full removal of the feature from the entire iPhone lineup seems unlikely.
Tags: Instant Digital, MagSafe

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]]> Get Up to $100 Off the M4 iPad Air on Amazon https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/100-off-the-m4-ipad-air-on-amazon/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/get-up-to-100-off-the-m4-ipad-air-on-amazon.2481679/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:42:40 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/100-off-the-m4-ipad-air-on-amazon/ Mitchel Broussard Deals multiple discounts on the M4 iPad Air, providing up to $100 off these brand new models.

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.

Specifically, Amazon has up to $90 off the 11-inch M4 iPad Air and up to $100 off the 13-inch M4 iPad Air. All of these discounts have been automatically applied and do not require a coupon code or a Prime membership.

$43 OFF
11-inch M4 iPad Air for $556.50

$58 OFF
13-inch M4 iPad Air for $741.50


The new iPad Air features the M4 chip, C1X modem, and N1 networking chip, which brings support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. In terms of design, the 2026 models are identical to the 2025 iPad Air tablets, with an edge-to-edge display, slim bezels, and aluminum chassis.

11-inch M4 iPad Air




13-inch M4 iPad Air




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]]> Epic Games Wins Reversal of Stay in App Store Fee Legal Battle https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/epic-games-wins-reversal-app-store-fee-battle/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/epic-games-wins-reversal-of-stay-in-app-store-fee-legal-battle.2481675/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:05:50 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/epic-games-wins-reversal-app-store-fee-battle/ Tim Hardwick App Store Epic Games Epic Games vs. Apple Apple Lawsuits

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier decision letting Apple keep its current zero-fee link-out commission structure in place while it appeals to the Supreme Court. The reversal means Apple now has to return to a lower court to work out what fees it can charge developers who steer customers to outside payment options.

Apple won the pause earlier this month by arguing that it shouldn't have to overhaul its fee structure twice if the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in its favor. Apple stopped collecting commissions from links to external purchase options in U.S. apps when ordered to do so last year, and the company wanted to keep the no-commission setup while waiting on the Supreme Court.

In response, Epic Games immediately filed two motions: one said it hadn't been given time enough to prepare a response to Apple's stay request, and another asking the court to reject the original request.

The three-judge panel granted Epic's motion for reconsideration. The judges said Apple hadn't shown that the Supreme Court was likely to take the case, and pointed out that the high court already chose not to hear Apple's challenges once back in 2024. They also rejected Apple's claim that being forced into lower-court hearings would cause real harm.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney shared the news in a post on X, adding that "Apple's delaying tactics have come to an end!"


The case now heads back to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in California, who will determine what commission Apple can collect on purchases made through external links, if any. Apple can still petition the Supreme Court while those proceedings move ahead.

The dispute traces all the way back to the original Epic Games trial, which Apple largely won. However, one exception was a 2021 ruling from Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordering Apple to relax its "anti-steering" rules and let developers point users to outside payment options.

Apple complied with the ruling, but only slightly lowered its fees, which led few developers to even bother adding links. Epic subsequently returned to court, and the judge found Apple in willful violation of the original injunction. Consequently, it barred Apple from collecting any commission on external links.

Apple appealed and dropped the link fees while the case moved forward, arguing that the ruling was unconstitutional and that it should receive compensation for its technology. In December 2025, the appeals court delivered a mixed ruling: Apple had violated the injunction, but the company should still be able to charge something reasonable for its technology. That sent the question of what that fee should look like back to the district court.

Apple is now hoping the Supreme Court will go further and throw out the district court's ruling altogether, but in the meantime, Apple will head back to court to determine the reasonable fee that it will be able to charge for purchases made using external links in apps.
Tags: App Store, Epic Games, Epic Games vs. Apple, Apple Lawsuits

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]]> Report: iPhone Memory Costs Set to Quadruple by 2027 https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/iphone-memory-costs-quadruple-2027/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/report-iphone-memory-costs-set-to-quadruple-by-2027.2481672/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 02:57:42 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/iphone-memory-costs-quadruple-2027/ Tim Hardwick Financial Times Financial Times ($).


Apple buys memory for roughly 250 million iPhones a year and has historically been one of the largest customers in the category. But Apple has reportedly now gone from a position where it could set terms to one where it now has to compete with rivals for supply.

The principal reason is the heavily subsidized AI build-out that's underway.

In a race to make data centers that can handle more compute for frontier AI models, AI infrastructure buyers like Nvidia are now reportedly outbidding consumer electronics makers for limited supply from the likes of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Meanwhile, cloud companies are reportedly making upfront payments worth billions of dollars to secure capacity.

It's a marked break from the industry norm of committing to volumes with suppliers first and negotiating prices later.

The pressure is already reshaping Apple's product plans, and the rumored split-launch cycle for the iPhone 18 series is said to be part of that new reality. Apple is expected to stagger the iPhone 18 launch, holding the lower-priced model until spring 2027 rather than shipping the full lineup in the usual fall window. Instead, only the iPhone 18 Pro models will be launched in September, with a foldable iPhone expected to be unveiled around the same time.

Apple hardware engineering chief John Ternus takes over from Tim Cook as CEO on September 1, and Cook will transition to his new role as Apple's first executive chair, where he is expected to take a direct role in day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, Ternus's first big decision will be whether Apple absorbs the increasing cost of memory or passes it onto consumers.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reckons the decision could come down to whether Apple holds prices to please consumers or accepts a margin hit, especially in markets like India and China where it competes with local smartphone makers. "By the time September rolls around, Apple has two choices: one, they reprice [products] higher, or two, they say 'let's go ahead and gun for market share,'" Mohan told the FT. He thinks there is a decent chance that Apple will opt for market share.
Tag: Financial Times

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]]> Notepad++ Code Editor Comes to Mac After 20-Year Wait https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/notepad-plus-plus-editor-comes-to-mac/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/notepad-code-editor-comes-to-mac-after-20-year-wait.2481671/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:24:47 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/29/notepad-plus-plus-editor-comes-to-mac/ Tim Hardwick No Ads now available as a native macOS app, following an unofficial open-source community port of the original Windows codebase. The Notepad replacement runs as a universal binary, so it works on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Notepad++
Notepad++ has been one of the most popular text editors on Windows for more than 20 years. Until now, Mac users who switched from Windows, or who worked across both platforms, had to choose between giving up the editor and running it through a Wine or CrossOver compatibility layer. Now those users have no such dilemma.

The editing experience is identical to the Windows version, right down to the Scintilla engine, tabbed editing, syntax highlighting for 80+ languages, search and replace, macro recording, and plugin support. The only difference is that the menus, dialogs, file pickers, keyboard shortcuts, and windowing all use native macOS Cocoa APIs.

Notepad++ for macOS is maintained by Andrey Letov, who wrote the Objective-C++ Cocoa UI that replaces Notepad++'s Win32 front-end. The unofficial app is available to download from the Notepad++ for Mac website. It's completely free and released under the GNU General Public License, so there are no ads, subs, or hidden costs.

(Thanks, Mike!)
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]]> Apple Pay for Transit Now Works in These 12 U.S. Cities https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/apple-pay-transit-us-cities/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-pay-for-transit-now-works-in-these-12-u-s-cities.2481663/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 15:50:45 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/apple-pay-transit-us-cities/ Juli Clover Apple Pay Apple Wallet Express Transit Apple Pay for transit feature that Apple has rolled out, providing a simple way for those who use public transportation to pay for rides.


‌Apple Pay‌ for transit works in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Some of these cities have supported ‌Apple Pay‌ for transit purposes for several years, and in others like Atlanta, support is new as of 2026. Atlanta launched its tap-to-pay MARTA contactless system in March 2026, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users to tap to pay their fares at rail station fare gates using the Apple Wallet app.

Cities that support ‌Apple Pay‌ for transit allow iPhone owners to turn on Express Mode to pay for transit fares without needing to unlock their device and authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID. A card for Express Transit can be selected by opening up the Wallet and ‌Apple Pay‌ section of the Settings app and tapping on the Express Transit Card option to make a selection.

When a credit or debit card is associated with Express Mode, it can be used to pay for transit automatically with no authentication. On iPhone models that support power reserve, transit payments can also be made when the iPhone is out of battery. Power reserve works for up to five hours after an iPhone dies, and it is available on the iPhone XS and later.

Some cities support adding a credit or debit card to the Wallet app for transit, while others require a specific transit card to be added to the Wallet app. The Bay Area works with the Clipper app or a credit card. Chicago's system only works with the Ventra card, LA's transit works with the TAP card, and Portland's transit system works with the Hop card.

In some locations, there's also support for fare capping. With New York's OMNY system, for example, subway and local bus fares are capped at $35 per week. As long as you use the same device each time you tap pay for a ride, rides after the $35 cap will be free for the rest of the seven-day period. LA's TAP system and OC's Wave system also support fare capping for ‌Apple Pay‌.

The iPhone 6s and 2016 iPhone SE and later all support Express Mode with ‌Apple Pay‌ for transit purposes. Express Mode also works on the Apple Watch Series 1 or later as long as watchOS 5.2.1 or later is installed.

‌Apple Pay‌ for transit also works in several cities around the world, including London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Toronto, Beijing, and Shanghai.

When traveling, you will need to look into how transit works in the city you're in, but it is a simple way to use public transportation because there's no need to pre-purchase travel tickets at a kiosk. Apple has a website where the different transit systems are explained.
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tags: Apple Wallet, Express Transit
Related Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+

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]]> Claude Gains Integrations With Adobe, Blender, SketchUp and Other Creative Apps https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/claude-creative-tool-connectors/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/claude-gains-integrations-with-adobe-blender-sketchup-and-other-creative-apps.2481661/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:41:32 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/claude-creative-tool-connectors/ Juli Clover Anthropic today updated Claude with new connectors aimed at creative professionals, adding integrations for Ableton, Adobe, Affinity, Autodesk Fusion, Blender, Resolume Arena and Wire, SketchUp, and Splice.


Connectors are tools that Claude can use to access other platforms and help with completing tasks. Anthropic says that Claude can open up new ways for creatives to work and take on larger-scale projects.

  • Ableton - Allows users to ask questions about the official product documentation for Live and Push.

  • Adobe - More than 50 tools across Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop, Premiere, and Express are available.

  • Affinity - The Affinity connector lets users automate repetitive production tasks and generate custom features.

  • Autodesk Fusion - Fusion subscribers can create and modify 3D models through conversations with Claude.

  • Blender - The Blender connector adds a natural-language interface for the Python API. Users can analyze and debug Blender scenes, build custom scripts to batch-apply changes to objects, and add new tools to the Blender interface. Blender's documentation is also available.

  • Resolume Arena and Wire - Visual artists can control Arena, Avenue, and Wire in real time with natural language.

  • SketchUp - Users can describe an idea to Claude as a starting point for a 3D model and then open it in SketchUp for further revision.

  • Splice - Music producers can search Splice's catalog of royalty-free samples.


Anthropic suggests that Claude can be helpful for multiple creative tasks, offering tutoring for complex tools, writing scripts and plugins for software, translating formats and restructuring data, and completing repetitive production work.
Tag: Anthropic

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]]> YouTube Tests AI-Powered 'Ask YouTube' Conversational Search Feature https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/ask-youtube-search-feature/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/youtube-tests-ai-powered-ask-youtube-conversational-search-feature.2481656/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:12:16 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/ask-youtube-search-feature/ Juli Clover Apple Rumors Mac iOS iPhone iPad

The new search option is part of YouTube Labs, an opt-in program that lets YouTube Premium subscribers gain early access to experimental features and prototypes. YouTube Labs is available to U.S. users, and subscribers sign up on the YouTube Labs website.


According to YouTube, subscribers who opt in to try the new search can enter a prompt in the search bar, like "plan a 3-day road trip between San Francisco and Santa Barbara," and then select the Ask YouTube option to get the results. Search results include AI summary text, short videos, and long videos, with relevant segments in videos highlighted.

The Ask YouTube search interface suggests some search prompts, such as "unique ideas for a backyard water feature," "plan a living room redesign using thrifted items," and "how to make a traditional French omelet."


Other YouTube Labs features in testing right now include Beyond the Beat AI details when listening to radio and mixes in the YouTube Music app, and VibeCheck, an AI coaching feature that provides tips on Shorts videos before they're published.

The updated search feature will be in testing until June 8.
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]]> iOS 27 to Add New Apple Intelligence Photo Editing Tools https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/ios-27-apple-intelligence-photo-editing-tools/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-27-to-add-new-apple-intelligence-photo-editing-tools.2481651/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:37:59 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/ios-27-apple-intelligence-photo-editing-tools/ Juli Clover Featured iOS 27 Apple Intelligence Apple Intelligence photo editing tools to the Photos app in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, reports Bloomberg.


On-device ‌Apple Intelligence‌ will be able to make subtle changes to image quality, positioning, and focus, with the new capabilities joining Clean Up, the sole AI editing feature that Apple has released to date.

The ‌Photos‌ app in ‌iOS 27‌, iPadOS 27, and ‌macOS 27‌ will have an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ Tools section when editing an image. Options will include Extend, Enhance, and Reframe.

  • Extend - Extend generates additional image content beyond the original frame of the photo, filling in scenery when changing the crop of an image. This tool will support expanding the edges of an image with zoom gestures.

  • Enhance - Uses AI to automatically tweak color, lighting, and other image parameters, similar to how the auto editing feature works now.

  • Reframe - When used with spatial photos, Reframe will let users change the perspective of an image after it's captured.


Apple apparently hasn't gotten the tools working perfectly, so Extend and Reframe could be delayed or scaled back. Clean Up, Apple's existing AI tool, still has issues even a year and a half after launching. It is able to remove unwanted objects from an image, but it is not as good at filling in missing information as other AI tools from smartphone makers like Samsung and Google.

More on the features coming in ‌iOS 27‌, including Siri updates, can be found in our iOS 27 roundup. ‌iOS 27‌ will be previewed at the WWDC 2026 keynote that's set to take place on June 8, 2026.
Related Roundup: iOS 27
Tag: Apple Intelligence

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]]> Apple Weather App Experiencing Outage [Update: Fixed] https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/apple-weather-app-outage/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-weather-app-experiencing-outage-update-fixed.2481649/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:35 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/apple-weather-app-outage/ Juli Clover Apple Rumors Mac iOS iPhone iPad

According to Apple's System Status page, the Weather app may be slow or unavailable for some users. The problem started at 11:36 a.m. Eastern Time and is ongoing.

Reports on social media suggest that the Weather app is slow to load for some, and is not loading data for others. We'll update this article when the issue has been resolved.

Update: Apple says the issue is fixed as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time,
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]]> Tim Cook Meets With Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Ahead of CEO Transition https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/tim-cook-white-house-meetings/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tim-cook-meets-with-commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-ahead-of-ceo-transition.2481645/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:42:48 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/tim-cook-white-house-meetings/ Juli Clover Tim Cook Tim Cook met with United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Monday. The U.S. Department of Commerce shared details on the meeting on social media, and said that Lutnick wished Cook well, commending his "remarkable leadership and lasting contributions to American technology."


Last week, Apple announced that Cook would be stepping down from his role as CEO on September 1, 2026, with current hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to take over. Cook's visit with Lutnick was his first high-level Trump administration meeting since last week's transition news.

Cook does not plan to leave Apple, and will instead transition to executive chairman, where he will "assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world."

In a letter to employees, Cook said that he is healthy and that he plans to be at Apple "for a long time" in his new role. "Apple will be my top priority," he said. "It's who I am at my core, and I can't imagine it any other way."

Cook told employees that he believes he can help strengthen Apple's global relationships. Cook has navigated two Trump presidencies so far, maintaining a positive relationship with the Trump administration and earning tariff exemptions for Apple.

Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund in 2025, and he presented Trump with a custom gift featuring a glass plaque with a 24-karat gold base after promising Apple would invest a total of $600 billion in the U.S. over a four-year period.

Trump last week said that he has "always been a big fan" of Cook, and that the two had a "long and very nice relationship." Trump said he was pleased with Cook's outreach efforts. "I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to 'kiss my ass,'" said Trump. According to Trump, he solved a "fairly large problem" for Cook during his first term, and he said he would help Cook where possible when Cook is not "too aggressive" in what he asks for.

Ahead of announcing his transition to a new role, Cook said in an early April interview that the Trump administration was "very accessible," and willing to "engage." Cook explained that he felt engagement and communication were important values, giving some insight into how he is approaching his new position.
But engagement for me, not just in the U.S. but around the world, is so important because it is very complex, working through local laws, local customs, local culture, local regulations. Every country is its own story. Everybody looks at things differently.

The only way you get a feel for that is to sit before someone and communicate and engage. If you went in my conference room, you would see the Teddy Roosevelt quote 'It is not the critic who counts.' I've never believed that just yelling from the sideline about plus or minus was a good strategy. Your voice just goes into the wind.

So you'll see me everywhere, and you'll wonder 'oh, he's meeting with somebody that has a different view than him.' I think that's good. I think it's good. I think a problem in the world right now is that it's so polarized and different views aren't shared or discussed. They just become hardened. And I don't think that's good.

With Cook taking on communication with policymakers around the world, incoming CEO John Ternus will be able to spend more time focusing on Apple's growth, and he won't be exposed to the same criticism that Cook has faced for his relationship with Trump and other world leaders.

Cook is still in Washington and he attended today's State Arrival Ceremony for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who began their four-day state visit on Monday. Cook may also attend the State Dinner this evening.
Tag: Tim Cook

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]]> M4 vs. M5 MacBook Air Buyer's Guide https://www.macrumors.com/guide/m4-vs-m5-macbook-air/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/m4-vs-m5-macbook-air-buyers-guide.2481644/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:07:26 PDT https://www.macrumors.com/guide/m4-vs-m5-macbook-air&post_date=1777406840/ Hartley Charlton Buyer's Guide MacBook Air announced a new MacBook Air, introducing the M5 chip, faster wireless connectivity, double the base storage, and a more capable charger, while simultaneously discontinuing the M4 model. So how does the new machine compare?


The M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch, a $100 increase over the equivalent M4 models. In exchange, base storage doubles from 256GB to 512GB, and Apple says the new SSD delivers twice the read and write speeds of the previous generation. Education pricing is also available directly from Apple and typically shaves at least $100 off the price.

The main upgrade between the two models is the chip. Compared to the M4, the M5 delivers:


  • Up to 15% faster multithreaded CPU performance

  • Up to 30% faster overall graphics performance

  • Up to 45% faster ray tracing performance

  • 27.5% higher unified memory bandwidth



In addition to these general performance claims, Apple published a set of specific real-world workload results showing measurable gains in AI-driven applications:


  • 4×+ peak GPU compute performance for AI

  • 3.6× faster time to first token (LLM)

  • 1.8× faster Topaz Video Enhance AI processing

  • 1.7× faster Blender ray-traced rendering

  • 2.9× faster AI speech enhancement in Premiere Pro



Beyond raw performance, the M5 introduces several meaningful architectural changes. The GPU includes a dedicated Neural Accelerator in every core, a hardware addition absent from the M4, and Apple is exposing this via new Metal 4 developer APIs with Tensor capabilities.

The ray tracing engine advances to its third generation, and dynamic caching moves to its second generation. Memory bandwidth rises from 120 GB/s to 153 GB/s, enabled by the move from TSMC's second-generation 3nm process (N3E) to its third-generation ‌3nm‌ process (N3P).

The M5 ‌MacBook Air‌ also gains Apple's N1 wireless chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 in place of the M4 model's Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.


















































































‌MacBook Air‌ (2025) ‌MacBook Air‌ (2026)
Apple M4 chip Apple M5 chip
Based on A18 chip from 2024's iPhone 16 Based on A19 Pro chip from 2025's iPhone 17 Pro
4 performance + 6 efficiency cores 4 super cores + 6 efficiency cores
Made with TSMC's second-generation ‌3nm‌ node (N3E) Made with TSMC's third-generation ‌3nm‌ node (N3P)
No integrated Neural Accelerators Integrated Neural Accelerator in every GPU core
Metal 3 developer APIs Metal 4 developer APIs with Tensor APIs to program GPU Neural Accelerators
Second-generation ray tracing engine Third-generation ray tracing engine
First-generation dynamic caching Second-generation dynamic caching
Shader cores Enhanced shader cores
PCIe NVMe Gen 3 SSD PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD (2× faster read/write speeds)
120 GB/s memory bandwidth 153 GB/s memory bandwidth
Apple N1 chip
Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth 5.3 Bluetooth 6
Support for up to two external displays when the lid is open Support for up to two external displays simultaneously over a single Thunderbolt port; one display up to 8K at 60Hz or 5K at 120Hz
30W USB-C Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
256GB base storage, up to 2TB 512GB base storage, up to 4TB
Introduced in March 2025 Introduced in March 2026
Started at $999 (13-inch), $1,199 (15-inch) Starts at $1,099 (13-inch), $1,299 (15-inch)



For users whose workloads include on-device AI inference, complex 3D rendering, or other GPU-bound and memory-intensive tasks, the jump from M4 to M5 is significant. The combination of per-core Neural Accelerators, higher memory bandwidth, and the new GPU architecture produces multi-fold speed-ups in specific AI operations. In environments where time-to-result directly affects workflow such as local LLMs, diffusion models, video enhancement, or ray-traced production, the M5 represents a meaningful step-change. The Gen 4 SSD, which delivers approximately twice the read and write speeds of the M4 Air's Gen 3 drive, further compounds these gains for storage-intensive workflows.

For typical day-to-day usage including browsing, office work, media playback, and basic editing, the difference is highly unlikely to be perceptible in any way. The M4 was already a high-performance chip that routinely exceeded the demands of normal Mac workloads, and for the overwhelming majority of M4 ‌MacBook Air‌ owners, there is clearly no general-purpose reason to upgrade.

For new buyers choosing between the two models, the M5 is the more straightforward long-term choice. The doubled base storage alone changes the value calculus, and when you consider that Apple previously charged $200 to upgrade the M4 Air from 256GB to 512GB, the M5 effectively costs $100 less than a comparably configured M4 model would have at launch. If future-proofing is a priority and you intend to keep the machine for many years, the M5 model will be better equipped to handle increasingly prevalent on-device AI workloads as they mature.
Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Air

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