TikTok Coming Back to Apple’s App Store Tonight Apple plans to return TikTok to the U.S. App Store tonight, reports Bloomberg. The company’s decision to start distributing TikTok again comes after a letter sent from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Apple removed TikTok from the U.S. ‌App Store‌ on January 18, just ahead of when a law banning TikTok went into effect on January 19.Tags: App St…

Final Fantasy iOS Game Shuts Down Due to Curious In-App Purchase Bug Square Enix today announced that iOS game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is shutting down immediately, due to some kind of in-app purchase bug. Apparently customers have been unable to access content purchased in the iOS app for the last several weeks, which Square Enix says is “due to changes made to the in-app purchases model.” Apple hasn’t…

Powerbeats Pro 2 Now Available at Apple Stores With These Features Earlier this week, Apple announced and began accepting orders for the Powerbeats Pro 2. Today, the high-performance wireless earbuds began arriving to customers and became available to purchase in person at Apple’s retail stores. Powerbeats Pro 2 feature the same H2 chip from the AirPods Pro 2, enabling Active Noise Cancellation, which is a fea…

What to Expect From the ‘Apple Launch’ Next Week Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to “get ready” for a “launch” on Wednesday, February 19. “Get ready to meet the newest member of the family,” said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuri…

Apple Working on New 27-Inch Mini-LED Studio Display Apple is working on a 27-inch mini-LED display that could come as soon as late 2025, display analyst Ross Young said today. The display could be a new version of the Studio Display that Apple first introduced in 2022. The current version of the Studio Display uses a 5K LED panel, so a mini-LED version would be a significant update. Young says t…

Samsung Kicks Off Presidents’ Day Sale With Major Discounts on TVs, Monitors, and More Samsung this week introduced a new sitewide sale with big discounts on TVs, monitors, storage accessories, and home appliances. You can also still save up to $1,200 when buying the new Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone lineup, which includes the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When…

Tim Cook Teases an ‘Apple Launch’ Next Wednesday In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming “launch” of some kind on Wednesday, February 19. “Get ready to meet the newest member of the family,” he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or any other specific details, so his post is a bit of a mystery. Bloomberg’s Mark Gu…

Is Your Apple Watch Speaker Acting Up? Apple Says to Try These Steps Apple today published a new support document outlining steps to try if your Apple Watch’s microphone or speaker is not working as expected. Apple says the steps can also be followed if the Apple Watch speaker’s audio is “crackling, distorted, muffled, or intermittent.” The potential solutions listed include updating your Apple Watch to the lat…

Apple’s Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that App…

Apple Maps Cycling Directions Expanded in UK and Ireland Apple Maps now has expanded coverage for cycling directions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The expansion, first spotted by a Reddit user, means cyclists can plan a journey on the app from, say, Land’s End to John o’ Groats, if they’re that way inclined. Cycling directions have been available in the UK and Ireland for a few years, but until …

US Lawmakers Urge Intelligence Chief to Fight UK iCloud Backdoor Order Members of key congressional oversight committees have called on the United States’ new top intelligence director to pressure the United Kingdom to withdraw its controversial demand for Apple to create a backdoor into encrypted user data stored in iCloud, according to The Washington Post. Last week The Post revealed that a secret UK order, issu…

iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Feature Smaller Dynamic Island, Claims Leaker Apple’s largest high-end model in the upcoming iPhone 17 series this year will feature a smaller Dynamic Island, according to Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The leaker claims that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will adopt a “metalens” for Face ID that integrates the transmitter and receiver components, which will reduce the size and thickness …

Apple Resumes Advertising on X Apple this month started advertising on X for the first time in more than a year. The company had stopped advertising on the social media platform in November 2023 following controversial remarks made by its owner Elon Musk. For example, the @Apple account is running an ad promoting Safari’s privacy features. The ad was spotted by MacRumors con…

Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 213 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ 213 includes fixes and updates for CSS, Edit…

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished M4 Macs Apple today added MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M4 series chips to its certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland for the first time since the computers were introduced in October 2024. Some refurbished MacBook Pro models with M4 chips are also available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands…

Testing the New ASUS ProArt 5K Display There aren’t too many 5K displays on the market that can compete with Apple’s Studio Display, but ASUS recently came out with the ASUS ProArt Display 5K, which is a solid competitor. The ProArt Display 5K features a 27-inch 5K screen with 218 pixels per inch, aka retina quality. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. ASUS s…

Apple TV+ App Now Available on Android Apple today announced the release of an Apple TV app for Android smartphones and tablets. The app is now available on the Google Play store. With the Apple TV app, Android smartphone and tablet users have a more convenient way to access the Apple TV+ streaming service, instead of having to rely on tv.apple.com on the web. Apple TV+ includes a v…

Here’s When Apple’s First Robots Are Expected to Enter Mass Production Apple is exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robots as future smart home products, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, he does not expect the robots to launch for several more years, if ever. Kuo today said Apple’s robot projects remain in the proof-of-concept stage within the company. In the event that Apple dec…

Amazon Has All-Time Low Prices on Apple Pencil Pro ($99) and AirTag 4-Pack ($69.99) Today we’re tracking a handful of Apple accessory discounts on Amazon, including all-time low prices for both the Apple Pencil Pro and AirTag 4-Pack. Neither deal requires a coupon code this time around, as both have been applied automatically by Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link an…

iPhone Upgrade Cycles Are Getting Shorter Again iPhone users are upgrading their devices at a slightly faster rate, reversing a long-term trend of increasingly long upgrade cycles, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) reports. According to data from the quarter ending in December 2024, more ‌iPhone‌ buyers retired their devices at an earlier point compared to previous years. Specif…