Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.2.1, Preventing Downgrading Apple today stopped signing iOS 18.2.1, which means that iPhone users who have upgraded to iOS 18.3 can no longer downgrade to the prior version of iOS 18. Apple released iOS 18.3 a week ago. When new versions of iOS are released, Apple stops signing the prior version after a week or two. An update that is not signed is not able to be installed…

Judge Again Denies Apple’s Attempt to Intervene in Google Search Engine Lawsuit Apple is fighting to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google as Google is prosecuted for antitrust violations, and so far, the court isn’t making it easy. Last week, Apple filed a motion for an emergency stay that would give the Cupertino company time to intervene in the lawsuit, but the judge overseeing the case denied Ap…

AppleCare+ Policy Change Coming to Apple Stores Starting next week, Apple’s retail stores will no longer offer AppleCare+ plans as a one-time purchase, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Instead, he said the stores will only offer AppleCare+ as a subscription. For example, AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no…

Get Apple Watch SE for Just $169 During Amazon’s Weekend Sale Amazon is discounting the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $169.00 today, down from $249.00. This is the best price we’ve tracked so far in 2025, and it’s available in Starlight, Silver, and Midnight Aluminum color options. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, w…

Amazon Takes $299 Off Apple Studio Display, Available From $1,299.99 Amazon is continuing its string of big discounts today with a return of the all-time low price on Apple Studio Display, available for $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00. This is the standard glass version of the Studio Display with the tilt adjustable stand, and Amazon also has a few other models on sale as well. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate part…

AirPods 4 Hit New $99.99 Low Price on Amazon, Plus Big Discounts on ANC Model and AirPods Pro 2 Amazon this weekend has major discounts on a few AirPods models, including a new all-time low price on the AirPods 4. You can get the base AirPods 4 for $99.99 on Amazon, down from $129.00. 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 …

Apple May Launch New iCloud Feature Codenamed ‘Confetti’ This Week As early as this week, Apple plans to introduce a new iCloud-based service for event invites, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said the new service is codenamed “Confetti” within Apple. He said the service will offer users a “new way to invite people to parties, functions, and meetings.” He did not say if…

Apple Expected to Announce Powerbeats Pro 2 on February 11 With These New Features Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11. Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said. Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to Air…

Sonos Offers Up to 25% Off Home Theater Audio Equipment Ahead of Super Bowl Sonos has kicked off its first major sale of 2025, offering up to 25 percent off select home theater audio equipment through February 9. This includes discounts on the Sonos Arc soundbar ($749), as well as various discounted bundles, many of which are deals we haven’t tracked since the holidays. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Sonos…

Top Stories: iOS 18.3 Released, AirPods News, and More January has come to a close, with Apple pushing out iOS 18.3 and related software updates in the final week of the month to deliver some refinements for Apple Intelligence, security fixes, and more. We’re looking ahead to more substantial updates with iOS 18.4, while we also shared news and rumors about AirPods and the upcoming “iPhone 17 Air,”…

Apple Cancels Mac-Connected AR Smart Glasses Apple is no longer developing augmented reality glasses designed to pair with the Mac, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple wanted to create smart glasses that looked like regular glasses, but had augmented reality capabilities. Apple was developing AR glasses that connect to a Mac for power, because a chip powerful enough for AR applications…

OpenAI Launches o3-mini, a Cost-Efficient Reasoning Model Rivaling DeepSeek OpenAI today released o3-mini, a new, more cost efficient model that’s available for both ChatGPT and the OpenAI API starting today. OpenAI previewed o3-mini in December, but it is ready at a time when OpenAI is aiming to keep up with Chinese company DeepSeek. According to OpenAI, o3-mini “advances the boundaries” of what’s possible with smalle…

You Can Now Read ‘The You You Are’ Book From Apple TV+ Show Severance Fans of the hit Apple TV+ show Severance are aware of the important role that self-help book “The You You Are” from Ricken Hale plays in the TV show, and now Apple has made a version of the book available to read or listen to. The You You Are is available as a 39-page book or an hour-long audio book that’s narrated by Michael Chernus, the acto…

Apple Wants to Help Google Defend Search Engine Deal Worth Billions Apple wants to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google, which is in danger because Google has been found guilty of violating antitrust law. Apple has asked the court handling Google’s lawsuit with the U.S. government for an emergency stay , so that Apple has time to intervene and plead its case before a remedy is deci…

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Apple Watch Series 10 Hits Record Low $329 Price, Plus Savings on MacBook Air, Samsung, and More The Apple Watch Series 10 returned to its all-time low price at $70 off this week on Amazon, marking the highlight of this week’s deals. You can also find ongoing discounts on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 smartphones, M2 MacBook Air, and AirTag. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a…

Generate Images in iPhone’s Messages App Using DALL·E With iOS 18.2, Apple introduced ChatGPT integration with Apple Intelligence to expand the range of AI capabilities accessible to users on supported iPhone models. One skill in particular that you may not be aware of is the ability to generate images in the Messages app, ready for sharing. ChatGPT leverages DALL·E to generate the images, and the …

The MacRumors Show: Latest iPhone SE 4 Rumors On this week’s episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the latest rumors about the iPhone SE 4 as it nears launch. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The fourth-generation ‌iPhone SE‌ is widely rumored to feature an iPhone 14-style all-screen design with a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, and USB-C. Im…

Apple Intelligence Support for Eight Additional Languages Arriving April Apple CEO Tim Cook announced during the company’s Q4 2024 earnings call that Apple Intelligence will soon support eight additional languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese. An update coming in April, likely as part of iOS 18.4, will also bring localized English support for users…

Apple to Compensate Early Apple Watch Owners in Lawsuit Settlement Apple has reached a $20 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging that certain early Apple Watch models suffered from a battery defect that caused screens to detach or crack (via CNET). Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit accused Apple of manufacturing the original, Series 1,…

CalDigit Launches Element 5 Hub With Thunderbolt 5 If you own one of Apple’s latest Mac mini or MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max processors, you may be interested to learn that CalDigit today announced its first Thunderbolt 5 product, the Element 5 Hub. The Element 5 Hub boasts nine ports, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports capable of up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, two USB-C ports at 10Gb/s,…