You can now use Siri on select Denon Home Series speakers — provided you already have a HomePod in your house.


Denon, a company known for its wireless receivers and smart speakers, has quietly rolled out a feature that allows you to control Siri on select smart speakers. This includes the Denon Home Soundbar 550, which also features support for Dolby Atmos.

Like the EcoBee Smart Thermostat lineup, you still need to have a HomePod or HomePod mini added to your Home network. Because Siri is only available on first-party Apple devices, Denon's speakers are only relaying the information to the Apple speakers.


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OpenAI is debuting its own app for ChatGPT generative text for macOS users, and it will be released very shortly after the release event is over.


To date, ChatGPT has been available for Mac through third party apps. That is about to change.

In its series of Monday announcements, the company declared that it will release a first-party Mac app on Monday. This will make the service constantly available to macOS users.


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Apple and Google have finally implemented their industry specification for detecting AirTags and other trackers hidden on a person, to help minimize the instances of stalking.


Initially announced in May 2023, the industry standard between Apple and Google is titled "Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers." After a year of waiting, it's finally becoming a reality on consumer devices.

The new standard will alert users on iOS and Android if a Bluetooth tracking device owned by someone else is being used to track them. Users will get new alerts on their smartphones if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is found to be moving with the user over time, regardless of platform.


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On Monday, Apple announced that Apple News+ subscribers get a new, original spelling game called "Quartiles," and support for offline mode.


Quartiles plays similarly to Boggle, though it requires players to form words by connecting tiles that contain two to four letters. Users score points based on word length.

New puzzles are released daily, and players can share Quartiles puzzles with other News+ subscribers.


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Following AppleInsider's discovery that Safari will add the ability to selectively turn off online ads, UK newspaper groups have complained to Apple.


The Safari feature AppleInsider uncovered in April 2024 will mean users can elect to automatically remove certain parts of web pages, most likely adverts. It's expected that the feature will be released as part of iOS 18, and it will be part of Apple's AI announcements at WWDC.

According to the Financial Times, news of this feature has prompted the UK's News Media Association to complain. While the Financial Times says that a letter has been sent to Apple's government affairs chief in the UK, about this feature's threat to the future of journalism.


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Apple has released macOS Sonoma 14.5, but it comes with very few visible updates.

Apple has released iPadOS 17.5 with no user-facing updates beyond support for new iPad models and their feature set.


All eyes are on the EU and Apple's compliance with the DMA, so recent operating system updates have not had many features focused on the iPad. However, Apple did introduce new iPads and accessories during a video event on May 7, which means iPadOS 17.5 includes support for those products and features.

Everyone else gets iPadOS 17.5, but there aren't any user-facing features. The usual bug fixes and performance improvements are cited in the release notes.


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Apple has rolled out tvOS 17.5, a relatively minor update focused on bug fixes and performance upgrades.


Apple's release of tvOS 17.5 is now available to the public on Apple TV and Apple TV 4K after completing another beta testing cycle. As anticipated, there are no public-facing notes of interest for this specific release.

While the version 17.4 release introduced support for SharePlay via Apple Music, it also introduced a bug that broke third-party Apple TV remote integration.


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It's time to update your Apple Watch again — Apple has officially released watchOS 10.5.


The beta versions of watchOS 10.5 did not introduce any new features. This suggests that Apple is prioritizing the improvement of the system's stability and performance. Such an update is crucial to ensure the devices operate smoothly and any new features added in previous versions work efficiently.

Like watchOS 10.4, this update didn't bring any significant updates, However, watchOS 10.2 brought increased Siri integration and user interface improvements. It enabled Siri to access health data, which allows users to query various health statistics using voice commands.


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Apple's EU DMA compliance is the focus of iOS 17.5, which adds Web Distribution as a method of sideloading apps — available now.


The initial compliance with the Digital Markets Act in the EU only allowed users to obtain apps from officially certified alternative app marketplaces. The EU stated that Apple's implementation wasn't compliant, and that it must allow sideloading from the web.

The feature is now available with the release of iOS 17.5. Apple calls it Web Distribution, and like with alternative app marketplaces, it isn't a free-for-all.


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With WWDC 2024 less than a month away, rumors have shifted to the Apple Vision Pro expanding overseas afterwards.


It's not going to be before WWDC now, so it has to be afterwards. Tim Cook has already publicly said that the Apple Vision Pro will launch in China during 2024.

Plus shortly after the US-only headset launch, Apple began recruiting for what it calls Briefing Experience Specialists in Australia and Japan. The role includes demonstrating the Apple Vision Pro to customers.


Rumor Score: 🤯 Likely


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Buyers of the new iPad Air and iPad Pro now have an option with AppleCare+ to get broken screens replaced for just $29.


The new low fee is the same one that Apple has been running for iPhones since 2018, and it comes with the same condition. Specifically, the screen can be the only damaged item, and any other damage is charged at $99.

In this case the AppleCare+ option is also solely available for the new 11-inch an 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro models. Other iPad models remain on $49 per screen repair, even under the AppleCare+ insurance.


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Sparked by new Apple iPad Pro and iPad Air models, third-party makers are debuting a host of accessories. Here are the ones we like the most.


Apple recently debuted new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, which means it's time to start thinking about new accessories. We've picked out some of our favorite cases, keyboards, and accessories to help you trick out your brand new iPad.


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On this episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast, we talk about the launch of Matter 1.3 and its new device categories, go hands-on with the Ridge MagSafe wallet, and break down the fall of Brilliant.


The big news this week is that the Connectivity Standards Alliance has released the 1.3 spec of Matter. This update brings tons of new device categories as well as other improvements.

A good portion of the episode is also devoted to what went wrong with Brilliant, the smart home wall controller that recently shuttered.


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Apple is allowing emulators on App Store. Here's what's arrived, and what's on the way to play your favorite retro games on your iPhone, updated on May 13.


The early April changes to the App Store Review Guidelines reversed a rule that practically banned emulators from the App Store. After the rule was removed, it was expected that there would be a sudden rush of emulators being submitted to Apple for inclusion in the digital storefront.

Emulators for the iPhone have existed for a while, but outside of the App Store as a side-loadable app. With Apple's changes, some of the projects are making the transition, and potentially gaining more traction from a larger user base in the process.


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Starting Monday, Apple Music is unveiling its countdown of the best 100 albums as selected by its team plus artists and industry professionals.


It's not as if Apple Music's list of the best albums is likely to end with Apple apologizing for them as it has with the "Crush" ad. But it's certain to be heavily criticized for it, in part because all such lists are, and partly because of what it has already revealed about the list.

"100 Best brings together all the things that make Apple Music the ultimate service for music lovers," Rachel Newman, Apple Music's senior director of content and editorial, said in a statement, "human curation at its peak, an appreciation for the art of storytelling, and unparalleled knowledge of music and an even deeper love for it."


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We've heard a lot about the surprisingly lacklustre sales tail for Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, both of which launched as PS5 exclusives, limiting each game's respective market reach. Now, Square Enix seems to be acknowledging that exclusivity deals aren't making much sense for the company, confirming plans to ‘aggressively pursue' multiplatform development. 

This isn't a new revelation for Square Enix. During the 2010s, Square Enix finally began supporting PC, bringing the entire Final Fantasy franchise over to Steam, before later bringing over games like Dragon Quest 11, Kingdom Hearts and smaller RPGs like Octopath Traveler, Bravely Default and others. However, Square Enix tried its hand at exclusivity again with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which remained as a PlayStation exclusive for almost two years, before also signing exclusivity deals for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16.

As part of the company's latest earnings report, Square Enix acknowledges that profits are down, in part due to platform exclusivity for recent major releases. As a result, Square Enix is shifting to a multiplatform strategy moving forward, with plans for more games to land on “Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox and PCs”.

In particular, Square Enix sees PC as a ‘growth market' and wants to do more to win PC gamers over. No specific details on what this will include have been announced yet but one quick and easy thing they could do is bring Kingdom Hearts to Steam, as the series has been exclusive to the Epic Games Store up to now. We should also be getting a Final Fantasy 16 PC announcement very soon, as the developers are in the ‘final stages' of polishing up the PC version of the game.

KitGuru Says: Square Enix has a chance to turn things around here. The company has gone back and forth on game exclusivity arrangements over the past decade. Perhaps now multiplatform support will finally stick. It can't be a healthy business model to release exclusive games if even platform holders like Sony and Microsoft are trying to find ways to get games on to more platforms without ticking off the console-buying audience. 

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Last year, Rockstar re-released Red Dead Redemption and its companion game, Undead Nightmare, for modern consoles, including PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately for the PC crowd, we were once again left off the list of supported platforms. However, that may finally be set to change, with an update to Rockstar's website hinting at the imminent announcement of a PC port. 

Red Dead Redemption has been a console exclusive ever since the game first launched. There have been numerous rumours about a PC version over the past decade but so far, none of them have come to fruition. However, Rockstar super sleuth, Tez2, has recently noticed an update to the web code for Rockstar's launcher, with new text specifically referencing a PC version of the game.

It looks like Rockstar is gearing up to release #RDR1 on PC. pic.twitter.com/2xMmpFIdCk

— Tez2 (@TezFunz2) May 13, 2024

The currently publicly-hidden message reads “Journey across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico in Red Dead Redemption, and its Zombie-horror companion, Undead Nightmare, now playable on PC”.

Given that this is now present in the files for Rockstar's PC launcher, it suggests that an announcement is now imminent. Chances are, we'll be getting a Red Dead Redemption: Definitive Edition release on PC, finally allowing non-console players to experience the whole story from beginning to end.

KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up Red Dead Redemption on PC if it finally drops? 

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Rocksteady kicked off its first season of post-launch content for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League back in late March, adding a new ‘Elseworld' to the game, along with a new playable character, The Joker. This was referred to as ‘Episode 1' of the first season, with a second act to follow six weeks later. Unfortunately for whatever fan base that still remains, Rocksteady has not provided any updates on when the second half of the season will drop.

One of the biggest problems new studios often run into when jumping into the live service market for the first time, is communication. We've seen a number of live service games flop over this, as a lack of release dates and roadmaps often lead to players losing confidence in the studio's ability to maintain the game long term. Rocksteady has already lost a good chunk of its player base since launching Suicide Squad months ago, but a few hundred players still regularly log into the PC version of the game, as shown by SteamDB.

Now Rocksteady has been posting things like new items that will be added to the game with the second half of the season. However, a release date remains illusive. As pointed out by Forbes, the first season kicked off on the 28th of March, which would mean that the next seasonal update should have dropped on May 9th, but so far, Rocksteady has not made any firm announcements.

Combine this with the fact that the game was labelled as a disappointment by WB leadership at the company's most recent earnings report, and we have to wonder whether or not Suicide Squad will even finish out a year of content updates. Given that the game has already led to a $200 million hole on the books, I wouldn't be surprised to see future development plans cancelled, or at the very least, drastically reduced in scope.

KitGuru Says: Earlier this week, we heard that Rocksteady had ‘chosen' to go down the live service route on its own accord. However, I would be quick to point out that WB executives have been calling for more games in this direction for a long time now. If the leaders aren't going to greenlight a new single-player game, but would greenlight a live-service, then whose idea was it really? Ultimately though, all of this may be a mute point. If Rocksteady can't deliver the type of money-maker their overlords demand, then in all likelihood, they will be shut down or sold off.

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Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima is coming to PC later this week. However, it has been removed from sale on Steam and other PC storefronts in over 100 countries and regions that Sony's PlayStation Network does not serve. This move mirrors the ongoing regional delisting issues of Helldivers 2, which is also unavailable in the same countries and regions.

Notably, previous Sony PC adaptations such as God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn were single-player only and did not require a sign-in to Sony's proprietary online service. However, Sony's latest effort to impose a sign-in requirement to play Helldivers 2 was met with considerable backlash, prompting the firm to undo it.

Apparently, Sony didn't think Steam was accessible in more countries than PSN, possibly locking out users in non-PSN-supported territories from the game they had paid for. Even after Sony overturned its decision, Helldivers 2 is still unavailable in over 170 countries. Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt is lobbying for this to be changed, but the restrictions are still in place at the time of writing.

On the other hand, Ghost of Tsushima is mainly known for its story-driven single-player campaign, which won't require users to login to PSN. Still, a multiplayer mode called Legends was added after the game's original release. Due to this multiplayer mode, the game is being delisted from all regions where PSN isn't available. Ghost of Tsushima will also notably be the first Sony PC game to ship with the new PlayStation overlay, giving players access to various PSN services, like friends, trophies and more. 

As seen on SteamDB, the same purchasing limits imposed on Helldivers 2 can now also be found for Ghost of Tsushima, which lands on PC this week. It would seem Sony's desire to unify the PlayStation and PC experience for its published games outweighs the desire for more sales, pushing into areas where PlayStation has historically not had much presence. 

KitGuru says: I think what this whole saga makes clear is that Sony needs to support PSN in more countries. Sony has garnered high sales on PC for many titles, partly thanks to making games available in regions where console gaming is less prevalent. People in those countries are likely still going to play those games. Better to have an official store option, rather than forcing those areas to resort to piracy. This will be particularly concerning for God of War, one of Sony's highest-selling PC games. its sequel, God of War: Ragnarök, is now on the way, and if that game is suddenly unavailable in countries where players had previously purchased the original game, then we will likely see a spike in illegal downloads instead. 

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We've known about Marathon for a while now, with Bungie rebooting its classic pre-Halo sci-fi shooter for the modern era, as a multiplayer extraction shooter. The original Marathon games aren't exactly widely available today, but Bungie is making it easier for fans to go back and see how Marathon started by bringing the classic trilogy to Steam. 

Marathon is being re-released on Steam under the name Marathon Classic, developed by Aleph One, a studio Bungie has partnered with to republish the classic games. The original game is now available for free to all on Steam, so you can add it straight to your library and start playing right now.

Later in the year, Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity will also land on Steam. While none of the games are fully remade or remastered, they have been updated for modern systems, bringing widescreen HUD support, higher frame rates, 3D filtering and positional audio.

Marathon first released back in 1994, and the last game in the series came out in 1996. Bungie is currently working on a brand new Marathon game, which is expected to launch in 2025.

KitGuru Says: Did you play Marathon back in the day? Are you planning on returning to it now that the classic trilogy is heading to Steam? 

The post Bungie is bringing the classic Marathon games to Steam ahead of reboot first appeared on KitGuru.