Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple was preparing to update CarPlay with support for voice-based interactions in AI apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. As of this week’s release of iOS 26.4 beta 1, that support has officially arrived.

Here’s how it works.

In new SEC disclosures filed this week, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it has once again trimmed its stake in Apple. At the same time, the firm disclosed a new $350 million investment in the New York Times.

Yesterday, Apple announced a “special experience” for March 4 at 9 a.m. ET, inviting members of the press to New York, London, and Shanghai.

The question right now is what format this “special experience” and the associated product announcements will take.

Update 9:21pm ET: YouTube appears to be coming back online now for most users. If you’re still having problems, let us know down in the comments.

If you’re having problems accessing YouTube this evening, you’re not alone. YouTube is experiencing a widespread outage, and there’s no estimate on when it will be fixed.

In addition to removing the iTunes Movies and TV Shows apps from Apple TV, tvOS 26.4 also includes a new setting for “Continuous Audio Connection.”

Apple released iOS 26.4 beta 1 yesterday, and the update includes a variety of changes and new features. In addition to everything we’ve covered so far, there are two specific changes to the Health app: updates to the Vitals metric and sleep tracking.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is “accelerating” its development of three new wearable products, including smart glasses, an AI pendant, and camera-equipped AirPods.

These products, the report says, are being “built around the Siri digital assistant.”

According to a new Private Cloud Compute software release this week, Apple is starting to use M5 chips in Apple Private Cloud Compute servers. This is the infrastructure that powers Apple Intelligence’s cloud-based features.

iOS 26.4 beta 1 is now available in beta for developers. The update includes a ton of new features and changes for iPhone users. There are new changes to the Music app, Messages, Apple Podcasts, and much more. Head below for the full roundup of all the new features in iOS 26.4 beta 1.

Update February 17, 2026: Now available for public beta testers as well.

Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.4 for developers today, and it includes a new Apple Intelligence feature for Apple Music.

Dubbed “Playlist Playground,” this feature lets you create playlists based on text descriptions.

Apple added RCS support to iPhone with iOS 18.1, enabling richer cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android users. This included things like typing indicators, read receipts, and high-resolution photo and video attachments.

Last March, Apple announced its plans to add support for end-to-end encryption for RCS messages.

Now, iOS 26.4 beta 1, which is rolling out today, adds an early way to test end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging on iPhone.

Apple Music and TikTok are teaming up two new features for the short-form video app. First, the companies are beta testing the ability to play a full song in the TikTok app using Apple Music. The two are also working on a Listening Party feature, allowing fans to listen to their favorite music together.

Apple has announced a special event for next month, inviting members of the press on March 4, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET. Apple is branding this as a “special Apple Experience” rather than your typical Apple event.

After a relatively quiet start to the year, things are about to pick up in the world of Apple. According to the latest reporting from Bloomberg, Apple has a range of new products set to debut in the coming weeks. Here’s what to expect.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Tesla is still working on adding CarPlay integration to its cars. The automaker, however, reportedly hit “a few hurdles” that it had to ask Apple to fix.

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new “Sales Coach” app later this month. The app will allegedly serve as a place for Apple to provide “sales tips and training resources” to employees, plus integrate with an AI chatbot.

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, we have more potential Siri delays, iOS 26.3 is now available, and more Apple news. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and much more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.

Last month, Spotify announced a new round of price increases for subscribers in the United States and other countries. As the price increases start to go into effect starting with February renewals, Apple Music is poking fun at Spotify’s drama on social media.

Apple Music is also offering a free three-month trial right now.

Qobuz, a popular hi-res music streaming service, is out with an all-new CarPlay app this week. The company touts that new CarPlay app offers a “a more robust and streamlined listening experience.”

Apple has released the highly-anticipated adoption statistics for iOS 26 for the first time. The company says that 74% of all devices introduced in the last four years are running iOS 26, while 66% of all devices are running iOS 26.

The iPhone 17e is coming soon, representing an update to Apple’s most affordable iPhone model. A new rumor today offers a closer look at the device, detailing all of the specs and design changes on the way.

Apple released for iPhone users everywhere this week. The update focuses a lot on interoperability between iPhone and Android devices, privacy, and more. Here are all of the new features in iOS 26.3.

After multiple years of speculation, last month Apple officially announced that Chase is set to become the new issuer of Apple Card. Apple says the transition from Goldman Sachs to Chase will occur in approximately 24 months. Here’s everything we know about what this transition means for Apple Card users …

Benjamin and Chance react to the disappointing news shared by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that the new Siri features are facing even more delays, but in happier news, a bunch of iPhones, iPads and Macs are due for an imminent refresh. Meanwhile, Tim Cook reminisces ahead of Apple’s 50th birthday.  

And in Happy Hour Plus, thoughts on the design of the Ferrari Luce and Jony Ive’s sniping comments about his former employer.

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