OpenAI is well on its way to reporting 1 billion weekly active ChatGPT users. The company today claims 900 million weekly active users, a 350% increase since just 18 months ago.

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This week we tracked quite a few deals across numerous Apple products, including low prices on Apple Watch Series 11, AirPods Max, and iPhone 17 TechWoven cases, all of which are still available today. You'll also find great discounts on portable power stations and Samsung's new Galaxy S26 smartphones below.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple Watch Series 11

• What's the deal? Take $100 off Apple Watch Series 11


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11, with $100 discounts across select models of the smartwatch. This time around, deals are more sparse and we're only tracking these discounts on three models of the smartwatch.

iPhone Cases

• What's the deal? Take up to 30% off


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week has big discounts across Apple's Clear, Silicone, and TechWoven Cases for the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air lineup. Items on sale include Clear, Silicone, and TechWoven Cases for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. We're also tracking a few discounts on other accessories like the FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe and Beats cases.

AirPods

• What's the deal? Take $30 off AirPods 4 and $100 off AirPods Max


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week is back with a notable discount on the USB-C AirPods Max, available for $449.00 in all five colors, down from $549.00. This is one of the first times in a few weeks that we've tracked every color of the AirPods Max on sale at $99 off.

Samsung

• What's the deal? Save on Samsung's newest Galaxy S26 smartphones


• Where can I get it? Samsung


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Samsung this week debuted pre-orders for its newest line of Galaxy products, including the S26 smartphones and Galaxy Buds4. You can find a few early launch discounts on some of these products, plus discounts on Samsung's most popular monitors and TVs, with notable markdowns on products like The Frame TVs.

Portable Power Stations

• What's the deal? Take up to 56% off


• Where can I get it? Amazon and Jackery


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Anker and Jackery have introduced big discounts across their most popular portable power stations this week, including up to 56 percent off select models from each company. We're tracking Anker's best deals over at Amazon, while Jackery's discounts can be found on the retailer's own website.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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This article, "Best Apple Deals of the Week: Get $100 Off Apple Watch Series 11, Plus Save on iPhone 17 TechWoven Cases and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Rumors indicate Apple has two new Studio Display models in the works, launching as soon as next week. Here’s what leaked Apple code says the higher-end model might include.

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Macworld's Filipe Espósito today again reported that Apple appears to be developing two new Studio Display models with different specs.


Based on lines of code in "internal Apple files," which likely refers to a macOS Tahoe Kernel Debug Kit that leaked online last year, Espósito continues to believe that both of the new Studio Display models will feature ProMotion, enabling up to a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as HDR support for increased brightness and dynamic range.

For the higher-end Studio Display, the report has revealed two more potential upgrades that had yet to be rumored until now, including superior speakers and more and/or higher-spec ports. Apple says the current Studio Display has a "high-fidelity six-speaker system" that supports Spatial Audio, and the monitor has one Thunderbolt 3 port that connects to and charges a Mac, and three USB-C ports for connecting accessories.

The new Studio Display will likely feature at least one Thunderbolt 5 port, to ensure there is enough bandwidth for both 5K resolution at 120Hz and accessories. However, another leaker curiously claimed that at least one of the new Studio Display models will max out at 90Hz, so we will have to see which of these rumors is accurate. A boost to the current 60Hz refresh rate can make videos and scrolling look smoother to the eye.

Espósito said that the higher-end Studio Display could have a 32-inch screen, whereas the lower-end model would likely stick with a 27-inch screen. However, this particular claim was merely speculation, rather than info from the internal Apple files. Keep in mind that with a 32-inch screen, 5K resolution would not be Retina quality, so the resolution would have to increase. With 6K at 120Hz pushing bandwidth limits, that creates a dilemma. So, perhaps the 90Hz rumor carries weight, but lots of question marks remain here.

Display industry expert Ross Young previously said that at least one new Studio Display would feature mini-LED backlighting. If so, perhaps Apple will opt to discontinue its Pro Display XDR with full-array LED backlighting and instead offer both lower-end and higher-end Studio Display configurations. But again, this is just speculation.

Another previously-rumored feature for at least one of the new Studio Display models is an A19 or A19 Pro chip, up from the A13 Bionic chip in the current model. This would contribute to improved performance, camera enhancements, and more.

Altogether, the full set of Studio Display upgrades could include a higher 120Hz refresh rate, HDR support for increased brightness and contrast ratio, improved speakers, Thunderbolt 5 support, mini-LED backlighting, a newer A19 or A19 Pro chip for performance and camera enhancements, and hopefully a larger 32-inch screen.

No major design changes are expected.

Apple reportedly plans to release the new Studio Display models in the first half of 2026. The current Studio Display launched in March 2022, alongside the first Mac Studio, so there has been a long wait for a refresh. With a new Apple monitor surfacing in a regulatory database last month, a launch should finally be getting close.
This article, "Two More Studio Display 2 Upgrades Leaked in New Report" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Spotify is continuing its push into the world of books with a new Audiobook Charts discovery feature. The feature is available to explore starting today in the United States and United Kingdom for free and paid Spotify users.

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Netflix’s popular ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ docuseries premiered its latest season today, and Apple TV subscribers in the US have access to the full season too thanks to a deal announced yesterday.

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Apple has released the third episode of Elevated, its original Immersive Video series for Apple Vision Pro. The latest entry offers viewers an otherwise impossible view of Switzerland from the air:

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Apple's SVP of services Eddy Cue has revealed that Brazil is Apple TV's second-largest market by subscriber count and its fastest-growing, in an interview with Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo (via 9to5Mac).


Speaking on the sidelines of Apple's recent media event in Santa Monica where the company previewed its 2026 content slate, Cue acknowledged that Apple has yet to produce any original content in Brazil. Competitors like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, meanwhile, have turned the country into a major production hub, leaving Apple in catch-up mode.

"It doesn't move as quickly as I'd like, especially if you want to be truly good, but we'll get there," Cue said. "I know Brazilians want quality – I appreciate that – and I also know there's a lot of opportunity in Brazil to create strong content."

Cue also reaffirmed Apple's commitment to theatrical releases through distribution partnerships, pointing to the success of "F1: The Movie," which was released in theaters by Warner Bros. and went on to earn an Oscar nomination. Cue conceded that "the bar for leaving home and going to the movie theater" is getting increasingly higher, but he believes the experience remains irreplaceable.

"There's no substitute for that experience – for watching a film collectively, going on a date at the movies, enjoying a night out with friends or children watching a film," Cue said. "It's something truly unique, and I believe it will become even more valuable over time."

At the time of the interview, Netflix was still in the running to acquire Warner Bros. Asked whether a potential deal could complicate Apple's theatrical distribution arrangements, Cue was unconcerned. "We have a great relationship with the Netflix team – I've known them for a long time – and the same is true of our relationship with Warner," he said. "I know Ted [Sarandos – Netflix CEO] very well. Well enough to believe we'll continue working together in the future."

Netflix has since dropped out of the bidding, with Paramount now widely expected to win ownership of Warner Bros. following regulatory approval. Meanwhile, Apple has struck a U.S. partnership with Netflix to bring the complete latest season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive to Apple TV.

A March 2025 report by The Information revealed that Apple TV subscriptions grew to around 45 million in 2024, but it was still losing more than $1 billion annually. The company has spent more than $5 billion a year on content since the service launched in 2019, but this was reduced by $500 million in 2024 in response to a push for cutbacks from Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives.
This article, "Apple TV's Second-Largest Market Is Brazil, Says Eddy Cue" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Last summer, the team behind the open-source 3D creation software Blender made news after confirming iPad Pro support was planned. Seven months later, however, the project appears to be on hold as an Android tablet version takes priority.

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Apple has asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding shareholders by overstating Siri's Apple Intelligence capabilities and misrepresenting its compliance with the Epic Games App Store injunction.


At WWDC in June 2024, Apple previewed two of Siri's most anticipated Apple Intelligence upgrades – personal context and onscreen awareness. The features were supposed to arrive as part of iOS 18 and were promoted the same year when launching the iPhone 16 models, but Apple is still working on them. In 2025, CEO Tim Cook acknowledged in 2025 that developing a "more personal" Siri was "taking a bit longer than we thought."

The delay led Apple to be accused in a March 2025 lawsuit of false advertising and unfair competition. But in a Wednesday filing in San Jose federal court covered by Reuters, Apple argued there is no proof executives knew at the time that either feature would be significantly delayed.

Apple's motion also pushed back on separate claims related to the Epic Games injunction, which required the company to let developers link users to external purchase options outside the App Store's 30 percent commission structure.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in "willful violation" of that injunction last year after the company introduced a new system that still charged developers a 27 percent fee on some external sales. A federal appeals court partially reversed her sanctions in December.

Apple said it never guaranteed its compliance procedures would be foolproof, and argued the fraud claims were unsubstantiated.

"It is no secret that Apple faced challenges and weathered ups and downs in its stock price in 2025, like many major companies," Apple said. "But plaintiff takes a massive and unsupported leap by claiming that securities fraud caused the temporary price drops."

The lawsuit covers shareholders who suffered losses between May 2024 and May 2025 and is led by South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's third-largest pension fund. Lawyers for the shareholders have not yet responded publicly to Apple's filing.

Apple plans to release a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini this year. It was expected to be part of iOS 26.4, but Bloomberg's latest report suggests the ‌Siri‌ functionality will not be ready in time to be included in it, so the new features could be pushed to iOS 26.5 or iOS 27.
This article, "Apple Asks Judge to Toss Fraud Claims Over Siri AI, Epic Compliance" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Blender's work on a native iPad version of its open source 3D creation suite has been shelved, according to the development team.


Back in July, Blender revealed that it was developing for iPad, with an iPad Pro version of its desktop software coming first, complete with a fully-featured multitouch interface and support for Apple Pencil Pro. No release date was announced at the time.

Now it doesn't look like that's about to happen anytime soon. In January, a status update appeared on Blender's GitHub page for iPad development saying that the project is on hold until further notice.

No reason for the halt in development was given in the notice. However, as spotted by YouTuber Brad Colbow, in a response to a comment offering help on the project, Blender developer Dalai Felinto said that the team was now focusing on Android tablets first instead.

During the fall at SIGGRAPH in Vancouver, Blender showed a live tech demo of the software running on iPad, so there's still hope that the project isn't completely dead and will resume at some point. We'll update this story if we learn anything more about a development timeline.

The latest Blender build for Apple silicon Macs can be downloaded for free from the Blender website.
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Apple clearly needs some way of distinguishing the upcoming low-cost MacBook from the more expensive MacBook Air. We’d wondered whether color might be sufficient to limit cannibalization, but it’s been suggested that the new machine may have a number of compromises.

9to5Mac readers aren’t really the target market for an entry-level machine, but some might consider it as a second Mac, while others might recommend it to family and friends. However, would any of the rumoured compromises be a deal-breaker … ?

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Netflix has dropped out of the takeover battle for Warner Bros. Discovery, putting Paramount Skydance on course to win the whole WBD business.


The world's largest streaming service had been pegged to land a deal in which it would acquire Warner Bros., HBO, and HBO Max in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $72 billion in equity and $82.7 billion, including debt. But after Paramount submitted a final offer, valuing WBD at $111bn including debt, Netflix declined to match it.

In an announcement on Thursday, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said:

The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.

We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.' iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price.

Netflix shares surged by 8.5% in after-hours trading, indicating relief among investors that the streaming company has not risked overpaying for Warner Bros.

Warner's board said Thursday night that it still recommends Netflix's offer, but now views Paramount's bid as "superior" – its first sign of backing for the suitor that it labeled hostile when the takeover battle began in December.

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said that Paramount's offer "will create tremendous value," and that WBD was "excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery."

Assuming Paramount's takeover is successful, it will give its owner Larry Ellison ownership of not only Warner Bros. and HBO, but also news channels CNN and CBS News. However, the deal still needs regulatory approval, so nothing is for certain just yet.
This article, "Netflix Walks Away From Warner Bros Deal, Paramount Set to Take Over" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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More than two years after its first season wrapped, Apple TV has finally premiered the long-awaited return of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Here’s what to expect.

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Along with the low-cost MacBook, Apple could introduce a refreshed version of the MacBook Air next week. Most of the focus will be on the new machine, but the ‌MacBook Air‌ is expected to get some useful internal updates.

M5 Chip

The next-generation ‌MacBook Air‌ will adopt the M5 chip, which Apple already introduced in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models that came out last year.

Apple's M5 chip uses third-generation 3-nanometer technology, and it features up to a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU with 3.5x faster performance than the M4 chip.

The M5's multithreaded CPU performance is up to 15 percent faster than the M4, and it offers 30 percent faster GPU performance. Apple added a Neural Accelerator to each GPU core to improve the speeds of GPU-based AI workloads. Unified memory bandwidth is 153GB/s, which is close to a 30 percent improvement over the M4's memory bandwidth. Unified memory architecture lets the chip use a single memory pool for running AI models on device, boosting GPU performance, and improving multithreaded performance in apps, so an upgrade there is meaningful. RAM will continue to start at 16GB, with 24GB and 32GB available as upgrade options.

Third-generation ray-tracing, second-generation dynamic caching, and enhanced shader cores bring improvements to gaming and other system-intensive tasks. An updated 16-core Neural Engine is more energy efficient than before, so we could see battery life improvements.

Storage tiers are likely to stay the same, starting at 256GB with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB available as upgrade options.

Design

The ‌MacBook Air‌ got a design overhaul in 2022, and there are no signs that Apple is planning for an updated chassis in 2026. Apple often uses the same design for several years before updating, and design refreshes are usually tied to major new features.

There are rumors that the ‌MacBook Air‌ will get an OLED display sometime after Apple launches new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with OLED technology in late 2026, so we could be waiting for OLED before we get another major design update.

We're expecting Apple to release the same 13-inch and 15-inch size options in 2026. Both will feature the same aluminum unibody design and fanless thermal system, along with a Retina LCD display.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ is likely to continue to offer two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, and the same speaker, microphone, and camera setup.

Pricing

‌MacBook Air‌ pricing is not expected to change, and it should continue to start at $1,099. There is a possibility that memory upgrades will be more expensive due to DRAM shortages that have driven prices up.

Release Date

Apple CEO Tim Cook teased product announcements that are set to start on Monday, so we could see the ‌MacBook Air‌ as soon as next week.
This article, "What's Coming in the M5 MacBook Air" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Razer today introduced a new 16-inch laptop sleeve that has an integrated wireless charging feature for smartphones and other small devices like earbuds. Priced at $130, the sleeve includes two MagSafe-compatible wireless charging zones, so it can charge an iPhone and AirPods at the same time.


The wireless charger is integrated into the top of the laptop sleeve, and the magnets serve as a clasp when the sleeve is closed and being used to transport a laptop. Power is delivered through a USB-C cable that can be plugged into a 30W+ power adapter or a Mac.

Charging speeds are limited to 15W, so you won't get full speed wireless charging on newer iPhones that support up to 25W wireless charging. The sleeve has one 15W charging spot for an ‌iPhone‌ and a 5W charging spot for the AirPods. It is not designed to charge two iPhones at once, both because there's just one 15W charger and because of space constraints.


There is built-in padding to keep a MacBook safe from drops, and a plush lining inside protects it from scratches. The exterior is black and made from a polyester material that's designed to resist wear and tear while also protecting a laptop from rain. Reinforced corners ensure no damage in case of accidental bumps.

The sleeve is sized to fit laptops up to 16 inches, so it works with Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The Razer Laptop Sleeve 16 With Wireless Charging for Devices can be purchased from the Razer website for $130.
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The lawsuit accuses Apple of having misled investors about the timeline and readiness of its Apple Intelligence and Siri features, as well as in relation to the Epic Games case. Here are the details.

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Netflix won’t be the new owners of Warner Bros. Discovery after all. Back in December, the company beat out Paramount with a huge $83 billion deal to acquire WBD, but today the company dropped its bid.

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The Connectivity Standards Alliance, which includes Apple, today released the Aliro 1.0 specification. Aliro is a new standard aimed at improving the way that smart door locks work with smartphones and wearables.


Aliro supports interoperability between mobile devices, wearables, and access control readers, so smart locks can work with any smartphone or wearable device without the need for a dedicated app. It is aimed at improving smart locks for the home, but also for corporate offices, universities, and hotels.

Apple, Google, and Samsung support Aliro, and Aliro-enabled locks will be able to be added to wallet apps on iPhone and Android devices. Major smart home companies that produce smart locks have also signed on to support Aliro. The Alliance says that Apple, Allegion, Aqara, Google, HID, Kastle, Kwikset, Last Lock, Nordic Semiconductor, Nuki Home Solutions, NXP Semiconductors, Qorvo, Samsung, and STMicroelectronics will be among the first to achieve Aliro 1.0 certification.

With Aliro, more smart locks should support Apple Home Key for hands-free unlocking with NFC and UWB.

The Aliro 1.0 specification includes a framework for using asymmetric cryptography for secure interactions between user devices and readers, without sacrificing user privacy. It supports multiple communication methods, including NFC, Bluetooth LE, and ultra wideband (UWB).

Aliro will be updated over time to meet new market and ecosystem requirements. Features like secure key sharing will come in the future.
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Apple has released visionOS 26.3.1 for Apple Vision Pro users today. The update fixes a flickering problem in the Apple TV app, according to the release notes.

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Apple today released visionOS 26.3.1, a minor update to the visionOS 26 operating system. visionOS 26.3.1 comes two weeks after the launch of visionOS 26.3.


‌visionOS 26‌.3 can be downloaded on all Vision Pro headsets by navigating to the Settings app, selecting the General section, and choosing the Software Update option. To install an update, the Vision Pro headset needs to be removed, and there is a software progress bar available on the exterior EyeSight display.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, it fixes a flicker issue that could happen when watching sports content with MultiView in the Apple TV app.
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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 238 includes fixes and updates for Animations, CSS, Editing, Forms, Networking, Rendering, Scrolling, SVG, Web API, Web Inspector, WebAssembly, and WebRTC.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Sequoia and macOS Tahoe, the newest version of macOS.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser from Apple’s website. Complete release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
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We’re giving away Apple’s latest MacBook Pro to one lucky reader this month courtesy of our friends at BenQ to celebrate the company’s MA series of monitors for Mac. The winner will also receive the new BenQ 27″ 4K Nano Gloss Monitor for MacBook! Head below to enter the giveaway and learn more about the new monitors.

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In the upcoming book “Steve Jobs in Exile,” author Geoffrey Cain will explore the lesser-told story of the years that preceded, and ultimately prepared, Steve Jobs for his historic return to Apple. Here are the details.

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