Apple recently reintroduced the Beats Pill wireless speaker with a new, redesigned and improved model. And to promote the product’s comeback, the company also brought back the classic Beats campaign starring the Beats Pill Characters, also known as the “Beats Pill Dude.”

The popular password manager 1Password has just received another update with a very useful new feature. Users can now generate a QR Code to share Wi-Fi passwords with others, making it easy for guests to connect to a network without having to spell out its password.

Apple Vision Pro launches in the UK this Friday, July 12, so Tim Cook has been busy talking up the product in the press. In a new interview with The Sun, he explains what he thinks the device is good for—and even shares that he is still using Vision Pro every single day.

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Apple TV+ news. Apple’s first summer blockbuster debuted its teaser trailer; Sunny became the best-reviewed TV+ series of the year and Fancy Dance the best-reviewed movie; finally, the critically acclaimed Slow Horses got a season 4 release date, with Severance season 2 following suit.

Now, Apple has announced that fan favorite Silo will be coming to San Diego’s Comic-Con later this month, with an announcement of season 2’s release date expected.

Benjamin finally gets a chance to try a Vision Pro for himself. iOS 18 beta 3 includes some welcome changes to the Photos app and the emoji keyboard, and tvOS beta adds InSight for the first time. There’s also rumors of a rigid plastic Apple Watch, and Ming-Chi Kuo lays out a roadmap for the iPhone’s telephoto zoom lens.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about visiting the Battersea Apple Store, and camping at Silverstone this past weekend, as Apple simultaneously christened its ‘F1’ movie. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

• Sponsored by Chargeasap: Introducing Connect Pro Magnetic charging cables, the world’s first 100W magnetic USB cable with LED power reader. Available now with special launch pricing.
• Sponsored by Shopify: Grow your business no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a $1 per month trial at shopify.com/happyhour.
• Sponsored by ExpressVPN: Visit ExpressVPN.com/9to5mac to learn more and get three extra months for free.

On today’s episode of 9to5Mac Daily, we discuss the news that the iPhone 16 Pro will get the same 5x zoom camera as the Pro Max, with bigger upgrades expected next year. We also cover Apple’s new feature that makes it easier to switch from Google Photos to iCloud Photos. Lastly, we talk about the latest update that Phil Schiller will not be joining the OpenAI board after all. Tune in for all of the latest Apple news!

Sponsored by Chargeasap: Introducing Connect Pro Magnetic charging cables, the world’s first 100W magnetic USB cable with LED power reader. Available now with special launch pricing.

Apple’s TV+ continues its streak of strong summer releases. Following a mixed bag of shows earlier in 2024, the streaming service has found success with recent releases like the sci-fi series Dark Matter and legal thriller Presumed Innocent.

And now Sunny, the latest TV+ debut—and its first produced with A24—is receiving some of the best critical acclaim of the year.

Welcome to 9to5Mac Gearbox, my new column where I mix my affinity for motorcycles and technology. While Gearbox is primarily written for motorbike riders, you’ll find that riding technology is never strictly just for bikers. Stay safe and enjoy the ride!

I’ve been wearing the Waterfield Moto Front Sling for two months now, and one thing is certain: you don’t have to be a moto rider to enjoy the Moto Front Sling.

Whether I’m riding, driving, or flying, the Moto Front Sling has gone from the East Coast to the West Coast and back with me this summer. My favorite feature? How it expands my everyday carry everywhere I go without being a full-blown backpack.

This fall, Apple Intelligence will bring a host of powerful features to users. If you have a compatible device, you’ll be able to create original images on command, call on a supercharged new Siri, and use custom AI-crafted Genmoji.

Apple Intelligence also introduces new writing tools across iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and iPadOS 18. Here’s how AI is set to improve your writing across all your devices.

Health and fitness tracking is the primary pitch of the Apple Watch, but has the time now arrived for the option of a more compact device in the form of an Apple Ring?

Samsung yesterday unveiled its Galaxy Ring, which collects health data (including sleep tracking), in a device with a claimed battery life of seven days …

Freeform was released alongside iPadOS 16 in October 2022. Apple created it as a more collaborative and project-focused notes app alternative. Even though it has stayed relatively the same since its debut, I personally think it’s one of Apple’s least talked about and most underrated app offerings in their ecosystem. iPadOS 18 brought some life into Freeform by adding one new feature that has helped with app navigation immensely: Freeform Scenes.

Apple trade-in values in the US have been reduced for some devices, but most of the cuts are relatively small. For iPhone 14 models, for example, the reduction is either $10 or $20.

The biggest cuts are for Macs, where the worst case is a $90 reduction in the case of the iMac …

Market intelligence company IDC has been monitoring US Vision Pro sales, and says the current data indicates they will plummet by 75% this quarter.

The firm believes the device won’t achieve 500k sales in its first year, and that only the launch of a cheaper model can drive growth …

Apple has warned a significant number of iPhone users across 98 countries that they appear to have been targeted by “mercenary spyware attacks” which could compromise almost all the personal data on their devices.

The company says it can never be 100% certain in its conclusions, but has a high degree of confidence that it is correct, and urges message recipients to take the security warning seriously …

The tetraprism camera available in the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to 5x optical zoom for the telephoto lens. The smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro did not get this upgrade, retaining its 3x zoom.

However, both the upcoming 2024 iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the same 5x telephoto lens. Ming-Chi Kuo says this camera will have identical specifications as what debuted in the 15 Pro Max. The analyst indicates more significant upgrades are coming in future years …

Way back in January, Apple announced policy changes that would allow Apple Pay rivals to get the same access to the NFC contactless chip inside the iPhone. This includes allowing banking and alternative wallets apps to present themselves when the phone is held near a NFC terminal, or when the user double-clicks the side button.

Following some amendments, the EU has finally announced today that it is satisfied with these concessions, and is closing a four-year investigation into Apple’s alleged anti-competitive practices regarding Apple Pay.

Apple Watch is turning 10 this year, and although the product has evolved a lot, its design is still very similar to the original introduced in 2014. In recent years, there have been many rumors about a major redesign coming to the Apple Watch – but they never saw the light of day. But after all, do we really need a radically redesigned Apple Watch?

Being added to an unknown chat group is certainly unpleasant, and Meta wants its users to know more about these groups. The company announced this week an update for WhatsApp that introduces a feature to help users and give them more context about unknown chat groups they’ve been added to.

ESR first came on to my radar with their excellent iPad Pro magnetic stand/case combos, and the company makes some of the best iPhone chargers too.

I’ve recently become a big fan of ESR’s 3-in-1 travel charger for iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, which I’ve found fits in just as well at home as on the road. Its elegant design paired with the MagSafe-like Qi2 benefits make for a winning combo.

We knew the retro game emulator app Delta was popular, but over 10 million users on iPhone alone? That’s the stat that the team behind Delta shared today alongside the latest news about availability on iPad.

The years-long process of replacing physical driver’s licenses and ID cards with iPhone and Android has moved at the painfully slow speed of government. The number of states that support Apple’s digital ID feature in the Wallet app remains in the single digits.

Some states have issued digital ID cards through dedicated apps instead. However, one state on that list has abruptly fallen off for now.

While the iPhone 15 Pro saw the addition of the Action button, the entire iPhone 16 lineup will reportedly get an all-new “Capture button” this year. This will give users a new way to quickly take pictures using their iPhone 16 camera, with a few added bonuses. Here’s everything we know so far