Philips Hue bulbs are one of the easiest ways to give your existing light fixtures smart home capabilities, including through Apple’s HomeKit platform. The problem with Philips Hue switches is that whenever a wall light switch is flipped off, the smart lights become unresponsive. The is a simple yet ingenious way to solve this problem.

Benjamin and Chance reflect on all the week’s Apple news in this July holiday episode. Apple has released a new whitepaper on Apple device longevity, as right-to-repair regulation takes hold. The Apple Watch Series 10 this year might not be the drastic Series X redesign we’d all been hoping for, and Kuo expects AirPods Pro with infrared cameras to launch in 2026.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin is still annoyed by iOS 18 Game Mode, and Chance has a change of opinion about the iPad Pro nano-texture display. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Earlier this year, Netflix announced to investors that it would phase out its most affordable ad-free subscription. According to users on Reddit, that change is now going into effect and people who are subscribed to the $11.99 per month ad-free tier are being cut off.

At WWDC last month, Apple announced its partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. While no money is changing hands between Apple and OpenAI, a new report today reveals that Apple will get an “observer role” on OpenAI’s board of directors as part of the arrangement.

The man chosen for the job? Everyone’s favorite Apple Fellow, Phil Schiller.

A long-time Apple hardware engineer is departing the company. As first spotted by RivianTrackr, Jeff Alves is leaving Apple after more than a decade to join Rivian, where he will join the automaker’s battery engineering team.

It’s been widely rumored that all four iPhone 16 models will use the A18 chip inside, and now we have more details backing those rumors. According to code changes discovered by Nicolás Alvarez, five new iPhone models have surfaced in Apple’s backend code, with evidence each of them is powered by the A18 chip.

One of my favorite HomeKit features is HomeKit Secure Video, which lets me view and manage security camera recordings right in the Home app. There are a number of different cameras on the market that support this feature, and here are my favorites as someone who’s tested a lot of HomeKit accessories over the years.

Apple is now classifying three iconic products as “vintage.” The company has updated its list of vintage and obsolete products to include the iPhone X, first-generation AirPods, and original HomePod as vintage products.

Believe it or not, we’re just two months away from the expected launch of the iPhone 16 lineup. This year, we expect the iPhone 16 lineup to offer new camera upgrades, bigger screens, faster performance, and more.

Should you buy an iPhone now or wait for the iPhone 16? Here’s everything to keep in mind.

When Apple announced the new nano-texture display option for the new iPad Pro, I was skeptical. I assumed that nano-texture would cancel out a lot of the benefits of the new Ultra Retina XDR display.

But after spending a few weeks with the new nano-texture iPad Pro, I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. The 11-inch iPad Pro with nano-texture is very nice.

Update: The deadline for class members to submit a claim has been extended to July 3. All other details below still apply.

If you owned an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus that suffered audio issues, your time is running out to claim a portion of Apple’s $35 million class action lawsuit settlement. Apple agreed to settle the lawsuit last year, and the deadline for affected iPhone 7 users to make a claim is fast approaching: June 3.

Apple just announced iOS 18 a few weeks ago at WWDC, touting new home screen features, Apple Intelligence, and much more. Now, right on schedule, Bloomberg reports that Apple has already started development on iOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, and visionOS 3 for next year.

According to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is targeting to begin mass production of new “AirPods with camera modules” by 2026. This report comes after Bloomberg also noted Apple’s plans to develop AirPods with cameras back in February.

One of the most highly anticipated features announced at WWDC back in 2021 was support for storing IDs in the Apple Wallet application. Touted by Apple as the last step before you are “fully free of your physical wallet,” the feature is still only supported by a small number of states.

Nonetheless, there are now over 20 states working towards adopting digital IDs for citizens…

One of the big changes in iOS 18 is support for RCS, enabling significantly better messaing between iPhone and Android users. With the release of iOS 18 beta 2 earlier this week, carriers in the United States started enabling RCS for iPhone beta testers.

Curious if your carrier supports RCS on iPhone yet? Here’s how to check.

If you’re looking to take your desk setup to the next level, this is the guide for you. Head below for some of my favorite products that can improve your working setup, ranging from accessories to decorations and more. All the things on this list are things I’ve personally used and can vouch for.

If you want to get multiple new phones every year, AT&T is introducing a new program for exactly that. AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program allows you to get a new phone three times a year for an extra $10 per month.

At WWDC 2023, Apple announced its plans to expand the availability of AirPlay to hotels around the world. The feature eventually launched with iOS 17.3 in January, starting with IHG Hotels & Resorts and TVs from LG.

Now, Samsung has (vaguely) announced that it is rolling out support for AirPlay to its family of hospitality TVs.

Benjamin and Chance react to all the new features in iOS 18 beta 2, and the fact that most of those features won’t be available in the European Union as Apple worries about DMA compliance concerns. In other EU legal news, the commission threatens fines for Apple’s anti-steering policies, and is officially investigating the Core Technology Fee. Also, Chance reviews the new Beats Solo Buds and relaunched Beats Pill portable speaker. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance’s Mac low storage bug returns, and Benjamin tries the Connected Cards feature in the Apple Wallet app. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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As legislation in the European Union looms, Apple is reportedly developing a new technology that would make iPhone batteries more replaceable. As reported by The Information, Apple is investigating using a new “electrically induced adhesive debonding” technology for battery replacements.

Alongside expanding its latest changes to the Self Service Repair program to Europe, Apple today has shared a new whitepaper, “Longevity, by Design.” The paper focuses on Apple’s approach to longevity, its principles on repairability, and “the truth about parts pairing.”