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.

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's official cases are reaching up to 50 percent off in this sale, with many priced at $25.00, down from their original $49.00 price tags. In terms of the Beats deals, you'll find steep markdowns on the Beats Woven Charging Cables during this event, as well as Beats Cases for the iPhone 17 lineup.


iPhone Air

• Clear Case - $25.00, down from $49.00

iPhone 17

• Clear Case - $25.00, down from $49.00


• Silicone Case - $25.00, down from $49.00

iPhone 17 Pro

• Clear Case - $25.00, down from $49.00


• Silicone Case - $25.00, down from $49.00


• TechWoven Case - $44.00, down from $59.00

iPhone 17 Pro Max

• Clear Case - $25.00, down from $49.00


• Silicone Case - $37.99, down from $49.00


• TechWoven Case - $49.99, down from $59.00

More Sales

• FineWoven Wallet - $39.99, down from $59.00


• Beats USB-C to USB-C Woven Cable - $8.54, down from $18.99


• Beats USB-A to USB-C Woven Cable - $9.88, down from $18.99


• Beats iPhone 17 Case - $19.97, down from $45.00


• Beats iPhone 17 Pro Case - $22.45, down from $45.00


• Beats iPhone 17 Pro Max Case - $29.99, down from $45.00

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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Apple today unveiled the winners of its 2025 App Store Awards, including task planning app Tiimo, which was named iPhone App of the Year.


17 winning apps and games were selected by Apple's team of App Store editors, for showing exceptional innovation, user experience, and design. The developers of each app and game will receive a physical App Store Award.

"Every year, we're inspired by the ways developers turn their best ideas into innovative experiences that enrich people's lives," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "This year's winners represent the creativity and excellence that define the App Store, and they demonstrate the meaningful impact that world-class apps and games have on people everywhere."

A complete list of this year's winners:

Apps

• Tiimo (iPhone App of the Year)


• Detail (iPad App of the Year)


• Essayist (Mac App of the Year)


• Explore POV (Apple Vision Pro App of the Year)


• Strava (Apple Watch App of the Year)


• HBO Max (Apple TV App of the Year)

Games

• Pokémon TCG Pocket (iPhone Game of the Year)


• DREDGE (iPad Game of the Year)


• Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition (Mac Game of the Year)


• Porta Nubi (Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year)


• WHAT THE CLASH? (Apple Arcade Game of the Year)

Cultural Impact

• Art of Fauna


• Chants of Sennaar


• despelote


• Be My Eyes


• Focus Friend


• StoryGraph

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The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch.


According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the ‌iPhone Air‌. SellCell examined real-time trade-in pricing from more than 40 U.S. buyback companies, comparing average values across weeks since launch against each model's original MSRP. All devices in the study were assessed in good condition for consistent comparisons.

The data shows that the ‌iPhone 17‌ series has averaged 34.6% depreciation after ten weeks, outperforming the iPhone 16 range at the same point last year, which saw a 39% decline. The ‌iPhone‌ 15 series remains the strongest performer over the past several cycles, retaining more value at the ten-week mark with an average depreciation of 31.9%. The ‌iPhone‌ 14 range sits at 36.6% over the same period.

By contrast, the ‌iPhone Air‌ shows significantly weaker retention, averaging 44.3% depreciation across all storage configurations. The Air's declines range from 40.3% to 47.7%, making it the weakest-performing ‌iPhone‌ range since the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus and certain ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini configurations registered similar drops in 2022. The steepest fall is attributed to the 1TB ‌iPhone Air‌ model, which SellCell identifies as the worst performer in the entire dataset.

SellCell's model-level breakdown shows a sharp divergence between the Pro segment and the Air. The best-performing model, the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro Max, has declined 26.1% after ten weeks, while the 512GB ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max has fallen 30.3%. All Pro and Pro Max configurations remain below 40% depreciation, which points to sustained demand in the secondary market. The standard ‌iPhone 17‌ fell between 32.9% and 40.8%, placing it roughly in line with the performance of recent non-Pro tiers. The ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup as a whole collectively retains 9.7% more value than the Air after ten weeks.

The ‌iPhone Air‌ occupies the entire bottom of the ten-week rankings. Depreciation among the ‌iPhone 17‌ models appears to stabilize by week ten, mirroring patterns observed for the ‌iPhone‌ 15 and ‌iPhone 16‌ generations. The ‌iPhone Air‌, on the other hand, continued to decline through week ten, which SellCell suggests could indicate longer-term uncertainty in the secondary market. The comparisons underscore how unusual the ‌iPhone Air‌'s trajectory is relative to other ‌iPhone‌ models.
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iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020.


If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to simulate a low-light environment. The Night mode crescent moon symbol should appear in the top-right corner of the UI, and if you tap the six-dots icon in the same corner, you should see the Night mode button in the options panel.

Now choose Portrait in the carousel and perform the same low-light simulation with your hand – no crescent symbol will appear, and you won't see any Night mode toggle in the options panel when you open it.

Owners of iPhone 16 Pro and other recent Pro models who perform this test won't see Night mode disappear in Portrait mode, and apparently this is all by design, according to Apple's own iOS 26 iPhone User Guide. As spotted by Macworld, the support document says you can only take portraits when Night mode is engaged on the following models:

• iPhone 12 Pro


• iPhone 12 Pro Max


• iPhone 13 Pro


• iPhone 13 Pro Max


• iPhone 14 Pro


• iPhone 14 Pro Max


• iPhone 15 Pro


• iPhone 15 Pro Max


• iPhone 16 Pro


• iPhone 16 Pro Max

Users on Reddit and Apple's own discussion forums noticed the omission on iPhone 17 Pro models at least a couple of months ago, but it seems that the change was not widely known (though a DXOMARK Camera test conducted in September does appear to reference the limitation).


The omission is puzzling, since the iPhone 17 Pro's camera hardware should be capable of combining the two modes. It could be that photos taken with Night mode are limited to 12 megapixels, whereas Portrait photos can be captured at 24 megapixels.

Still, Apple has not officially explained why the feature is not available on its latest premium models, nor has it said whether the feature will arrive later as part of a coming software update. Either way, we expect Apple will provide some commentary soon.

Until then, for users who relied on Night Mode portraits on earlier Pro models, it probably feels like a downgrade.
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Proton today announced the launch of Proton Sheets, its end-to-end encrypted spreadsheet web application designed to offer a privacy-focused alternative to Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.


Unlike traditional spreadsheet tools, Proton Sheets encrypts all user data by default, including filenames and metadata. That means no one, not even Proton, can access the contents of users' spreadsheets. The company says the new tool is a response to growing concerns about Big Tech's data collection practices and the integration of AI features that may use proprietary business information for training purposes.

Proton Sheets supports commonly used formulas, data visualization through charts and graphs, and real-time collaboration features. Users can import existing CSV and XLS files, which are then protected with encryption. The application includes access controls that let users manage who can view or edit files.

"With the launch of Proton Sheets, we are not just closing the productivity gap – we are reclaiming data sovereignty for businesses and individuals alike," said Anant Vijay Singh, head of product at Proton Drive. "The reality today is that most spreadsheet tools come from Big Tech giants whose entire business models are built on exploiting user data. Now, with AI woven deeply into these platforms, the risks have escalated exponentially. Every keystroke, every formula you enter can feed into their AI training pipelines. This is an unacceptable trade-off. Users deserve a future free from hidden surveillance and invasive data mining. That's why we built Proton Sheets: a robust, privacy-first alternative that puts control, security, and trust back where they belong – firmly in users hands."

The spreadsheet tool is available through web browsers and within the Proton Drive app. Following the release, Proton Drive now offers a range of productivity tools that includes email, calendar, documents, and spreadsheets, all with built-in encryption.

More information about Proton Sheets is available on the Proton website.
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Apple is today celebrating the winners of Your Tree on Battersea, its festive UK competition that invited people to design digital Christmas trees on iPad.


The 24 winning submissions are set to be projected onto Battersea Power Station beginning today, from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day until 24 December.

The winning submissions will be featured on the building's chimneys alongside trees drawn by established artists and notable figures such as Kylie Minogue, Sir Stephen Fry, Maro Itoje, Oliver Jeffers, David Shrigley OBE, and Chawawa.

Apple says the competition carries on the company's tradition of celebrating festive creativity, and it's the first time it has opened the opportunity to the public.

In 2023, artist David Hockney created Bigger Christmas Trees on iPad Pro, and last year, Aardman – creator of Wallace & Gromit – used iPhone 16 Pro Max to create a short animation. Both installations transformed the iconic 101-metre-high chimneys and wash towers that soar above the River Thames.
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Apple today updated its executive leadership page to remove John Giannandrea, who is set to retire from Apple next spring. Earlier this week, Apple said that Giannandrea would step down from his role as AI chief, serving as an advisor until he leaves the company.


Giannandrea's upcoming retirement was announced on Monday, and Apple wasted no time updating its leadership website. Former Microsoft Corporate VP of AI Amar Subramanya is set to take over as Apple's vice president of AI, but he is not yet listed on the site. Subramanya will report to software engineering chief Craig Federighi.

Some of the teams that Giannandrea led are being shifted to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue, including AI Infrastructure and Search and Knowledge.

Giannandrea joined Apple in 2018 as the company's senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy. He was overseeing Siri, Core ML, and other AI efforts at Apple. Before Apple, Giannandrea worked at Google as a senior vice president of engineering.

After the iOS 18 ‌Siri‌ failure, Giannandrea's retirement comes as no surprise. Apple announced new Apple Intelligence ‌Siri‌ features at WWDC when it unveiled iOS 18, and then used those unreleased features to market the iPhone 16 models. In spring 2025, when we were expecting the launch of the promised functionality, Apple said the smarter version of ‌Siri‌ wasn't ready and announced a year-long delay.

More than half a dozen former employees who worked on Apple's AI team told The Information the issues with ‌Siri‌ stemmed from poor leadership, stringent privacy practices, conflicting personalities, and indecision. Apple hasn't publicly commented on the situation, but stripped Siri from Giannandrea in March and overhauled the Siri team. Apple also removed Giannandrea from its robotics division in April.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced plans to launch a creative studio that will be led by former Apple UI designer Alan Dye. As we learned earlier today, Dye is leaving his position as Vice President of Human Interface Design at Apple to become Meta's new chief design officer.


In a post on social media site Threads, Zuckerberg said that Meta's creative studio will merge design, fashion, and technology, while also treating intelligence as a "new design material."

The new studio will bring together design, fashion, and technology to define the next generation of our products and experiences. Our idea is to treat intelligence as a new design material and imagine what becomes possible when it is abundant, capable, and human-centered. We plan to elevate design within Meta, and pull together a talented group with a combination of craft, creative vision, systems thinking, and deep experience building iconic products that bridge hardware and software.

We're entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other. The potential is enormous, but what matters most is making these experiences feel natural and truly centered around people. With this new studio, we're focused on making every interaction thoughtful, intuitive, and built to serve people.

Meta is also hiring another Apple designer, Billy Sorrentino, who has been on Apple's human interface design team for the last 10 years. Like Dye, Sorrentino worked on Apple's iOS 26 Liquid Glass redesign.

Along with the two former Apple designers, Meta's studio will include its existing industrial design team and its metaverse design and art teams.

Meta currently sells its Quest VR headsets and AI smart glasses designed in collaboration with Ray-Ban and Oakley. Meta is aiming to expand further into hardware, and it is hard at work on a set of augmented reality glasses.

Alan Dye was one of Apple's few remaining designers that worked alongside Jony Ive. He originally joined Apple in 2006, transitioning to Ive's team in 2012 to work on iOS 7. He has been leading Apple's user interface design team since 2015, and will now start at Meta on December 31.
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Just before Apple updated the iPad Pro with a next-generation M5 chip, Samsung refreshed its tablet lineup and debuted the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. We thought we'd pit Apple's latest ‌iPad Pro‌ against Samsung's newest tablet to see how they compare to one another.


While the ‌iPad Pro‌ measures in at 13 inches, the S11 Ultra is much larger at 14.6 inches. They both have OLED displays, but the bigger screen makes an impact. Samsung's screen is bright, colorful, and has excellent contrast, plus you don't have to pay extra for a matte coating to cut down on glare.

The M5 ‌iPad Pro‌ and the S11 Ultra are both 5.1mm, so they're incredibly thin and light. That's especially apparent with the bigger screen.

Apple doesn't let you upgrade ‌iPad Pro‌ storage on your own, but the S11 Ultra has a microSD card slot that accommodates up to 2TB of storage. RAM is up to 16GB, the same as the ‌iPad Pro‌.

Both tablets have a stylus accessory, but Samsung includes its S Pen in the box while Apple sells the Apple Pencil Pro separately. This year's S Pen has a pencil like feel and a new tip that provides a better writing experience, but the ‌Apple Pencil‌ is still better.

Samsung's tablets have a DeX mode that allows them to connect to a display or a TV for a desktop-like usage experience. DeX transforms the UI and optimizes it for a larger screen so you can do more on your tablet with dual-screen support. You can connect a second display to your iPad, but the experience is nothing like DeX, and you're limited to the ‌iPad‌ multitasking features. Samsung's S11 Ultra is much better at transitioning from a tablet to something more closely resembling a computer.

Samsung devices run Android, which is an immediate dealbreaker for a lot of Apple users. Android has the benefit of deep AI integration that Apple currently can't match, so the S11 Ultra has features like Drawing Assist, Writing Assist, camera-supported Gemini Live, and full Gemini support.

The ‌iPad Pro‌ has no water resistance, but the S11 Ultra offers IP68 protection, which means it can hold up to submersion in water. The ‌iPad Pro‌ wins in sheer performance thanks to the M5 chip. Samsung has a 3nm MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chip, but the ‌iPad‌ is almost twice as fast in most benchmarking tests.

Apple's App Store is still more robust with a better selection of apps optimized for a tablet-sized screen, and there are many pro-level apps that aren't available on Samsung's platform. Both Apple and Samsung make keyboard cases for their tablets, but Samsung's S11 Ultra keyboard doesn't have a trackpad, which is a major downgrade compared to the ‌iPad Pro‌'s Magic Keyboard.

Would you get a Samsung tablet? Let us know in the comments below.
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Apple UI design head Alan Dye is leaving the company and transitioning to Meta, reports Bloomberg. Dye took over Apple's user interface design team in 2015 when former Apple designer Jony Ive transitioned to Chief Design Officer, and he's held that position since then.


Dye has been at Apple since 2006, joining the marketing and communication team as a creative director. He transitioned to Jony Ive's user interface team in 2012 to work on iOS 7, and he worked on subsequent iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS design updates. Most recently, he helped develop the Vision Pro interface, and he oversaw the rollout of the iOS 26 and macOS 26 Liquid Glass design revamp.

Apple plans to replace Dye with Stephen Lemay, a longtime Apple designer who joined the company over 25 years ago. In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook praised Lemay.

Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999. He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple's culture of collaboration and creativity.

Design is fundamental to who we are at Apple, and today, we have an extraordinary design team working on the most innovative product lineup in our history.

Dye is joining Meta as chief design officer on December 31, and he will help Meta in its efforts to further break into consumer hardware. Dye will head up Meta's new design studio, overseeing hardware design and software design with a focus on improving Meta devices like headsets and glasses with AI features.
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Apple is expanding AirPods and Apple Watch health features to additional countries starting today.


Hypertension notifications from the Apple Watch are now available in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality has expanded to Bahrain, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, while Sleep Apnea notifications are available in Colombia.

Apple also expanded Hearing Aid functionality with automatic Conversation Boost to a long list of European countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Ireland, and Denmark.

Apple introduced Hypertension notifications in watchOS 26, and the feature uses heart data collected by the Apple Watch to alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure are detected. Hypertension notifications work after collecting 30 days of heart rate data, and the feature can be set up in the Apple Health app on the iPhone.

Hypertension alerts are available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and later and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.

Sleep apnea detection is a feature that Apple first started rolling out with watchOS 11. It uses the accelerometer to monitor subtle wrist movements that are associated with interruptions in normal breathing patterns, alerting users if breathing disturbances are detected. Sleep apnea detection also requires 30 days of data, with information available in the Breathing Disturbances section of the Health app.

Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality first rolled out last year, allowing the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 to be used in lieu of hearing aids for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss. The hearing test uses tones at different frequencies to detect hearing loss, and if issues are detected, users can turn on hearing assistance. The feature also includes Loud Sound Reduction to protect hearing health.

Conversation Boost has long been an AirPods Pro feature, but the auto-on option paired with Hearing Aid functionality automatically enhances sound volume when someone speaks. Hearing Aid functionality with Conversation Boost works on the AirPods Pro 2 and later, with a list of supported countries available on Apple's website.
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Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming watchOS 26.2, tvOS 26.2, and visionOS 26.2 updates for testing purposes. The software comes two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The RCs are the final versions of the watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS 26.2 updates that will be provided to the public next week as long as no other bugs are found.


The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device.

watchOS 26.2 features updated Sleep Score ranges that better match how people might be feeling after a night's rest.

In tvOS 26.2, Apple added support for creating a profile without an Apple Account, plus there is a dedicated Apple TV app kids mode for profiles created for kids.
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Apple today provided the release candidate of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.2 update to developers and public beta testers, with the update coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third beta. The RC represents the final version of macOS Tahoe 26.2 that will be provided to the public as long as no bugs are found in the software.


Testers can download the macOS Tahoe 26.2 update by opening up the System Settings app, selecting the General category, and then choosing Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled.

macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a new feature for video calls. Edge Light adds a border of soft light around the edges of the Mac's display to illuminate your face in darkened rooms. Edge Light is meant to mimic the look of a physical ring light.

Edge Light uses the Neural Engine for positioning, so it is optimally placed around your face in the video frame. Light color can be adjusted from warm to cool, and intensity varies based on ambient lighting. Edge Light is available in video conferencing apps like FaceTime and Webex alongside other options like backgrounds, Portrait mode, and Voice Isolation. It works on Macs that support Apple silicon.

Along with Edge Light, the Reminders app is getting an option to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, the News app has some design updates, and Apple is adding new features to the Podcasts app.
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Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing.


Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.

iOS 26.2 has a Liquid Glass slider on the Lock Screen to adjust the transparency of the clock, plus it brings AirPods Live Translation to the European Union. The Reminders app now supports alarms for when tasks are due, and there are updates to the Podcasts and Apple News apps. Menu animations have been revamped, and CarPlay supports disabling pinned messages in the Messages app.

We have a full list of all the features available in iOS 26.2 in our guide.

iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 will likely see a launch next week.
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Apple is offering a new Apple Pay promotion for the holidays, teaming up with Etsy to provide a $15 discount off of a purchase of $75 or more.


Etsy users can get the $15 discount when making a purchase using ‌Apple Pay‌ as the payment method in the Etsy app and entering the promo code APPLEPAY at checkout.

One discount is available per person, and it excludes shipping and handling, gift cards, and taxes. It is also not available for use on the Etsy website. The deal is available through December 10, 2025 at 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Fandango is also offering another "‌Apple Pay‌ Wednesday" promotion that discounts movie tickets by $5 when making a purchase with ‌Apple Pay‌ in the Fandango app or on the Fandango website. Customers will need to use the promo code APPLEPAYWED when checking out to get the deal.


The discount can be used for tickets at any theater that supports Fandango, and at any date and time, so purchases do not have to be for same-day tickets.
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Apple's AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are still available at their record low price of $99.00 on Amazon, down from $179.00. We started tracking this deal last week for Black Friday, and it's one of the few that has stuck around after that event ended.

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 running.

Free shipping options have somewhat delayed delivery dates, with December 11 provided as of writing. Prime members in select cities should see some same-day delivery times. As of writing, this is the only AirPods model on Amazon matching its record low price.



Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

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Spotify Wrapped has returned for 2025, and it offers three particularly unique features compared to this year's edition of Apple Music Replay.


First, there is a new top song quiz that allows you to guess which track you listened to the most on Spotify this year, before it is revealed.

Second, there is a new Wrapped Party feature on mobile devices that is designed for both group chats in messaging apps and in-person gatherings. This fun and interactive feature lets you compete with up to nine friends, to see who streamed the most minutes of music, who discovered the most new artists, and more throughout the year.


Third, there are now Wrapped Clubs. Spotify will sort you into one of six clubs based on your unique listening history over the past year.

As always, Spotify Wrapped is an end-of-year highlight reel that lets you view the total time you spent listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks on Spotify. You can also view your top five songs and top five artists that you listened to this year, and for the first time, you can now view your top albums of the year as well.

Just like Apple Music Replay, Spotify Wrapped provides you with a playlist of your top songs in 2025, and highlight reel cards that are designed to be shared on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.


Many other new features were added to Spotify Wrapped this year, so make sure to check out Spotify's list if you are interested in learning more.

Spotify also shared year-end charts and more.

2025 Wrapped is prominently featured at the top of the Spotify app.
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Apple today launched its personalized 2025 Year in Review experience for Apple Books, featuring users' top books and audiobooks of the year.


Starting today, the 2025 Year in Review appears prominently inside the Home tab of the Apple Books app. The feature offers a personalized breakdown of each user's reading activity throughout the year, including total books completed, top genres, most-read authors, and month-by-month engagement.

Apple first introduced the Year in Review several years ago as a parallel to Apple Music Replay and other annual consumption summaries, and the company continues to refine the experience each year. The 2025 Year in Review displays reading trends in a visual timeline, graphs, and category-specific rankings.

Alongside the personalized recap, Apple has published its annual editorial lists highlighting the Best Books of 2025 and Best Audiobooks of 2025. These lists are curated by Apple Books' editorial team, are also featured inside the Home tab and include titles across fiction, nonfiction, memoir, thrillers, and new author debuts.

It's been quite the year for brilliant books, so much so that it's hard to know where to start when it comes to choosing your next read. But our editors are here to help with their carefully curated top picks of 2025. There's something for every taste and mood: revealing memoirs, compelling crime and thrillers, sizzling romances, hotshot new names, trusty old favourites and so much more. To find out why our editors loved these titles, and why they think you will too, click on each one to read their reviews.

This year's Best Books of 2025 list includes titles such as 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell, Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy, Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow, Arcana Academy by Elise Kova, King Sorrow by Joe Hill, and Motherland by Julia Ioffe.

For audiobooks, Apple highlights 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly, Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, and The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher.
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Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to select Audi vehicles in China, based on evidence uncovered by MacRumors on Apple's backend.


Specifically, the car key support relates to Audi's partnership with Chinese company FAW, which manufactures and sells Audi vehicles in the Chinese market. The joint venture produces both combustion engine and all-electric vehicles. The partnership is now on an internal Apple list of vehicles that offer car key integration, but it is not known which models the support pertains to.

Last month, car key support was implemented for models produced by SAIC-Audi, another China-based collaboration that produces Audi EVs in the country. For car key to come to Audi vehicles, the automotive company will need to add the functionality.

Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

A tap on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock, and while Face ID authentication is a security option, Apple offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for a faster unlocking process.

At WWDC 2025, Apple confirmed that 13 vehicle brands would "soon" add support for digital car keys, and Audi was on the list. Other brands included were Acura, Porsche, GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Rivian, Smart, Lucid Motors, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah.

Vehicles from BMW, Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, Lotus, Mercedes, Volvo, and more offer car keys support, with a list available on MacRumors.com.
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Apple's upcoming iPhone 17e is set to feature slimmer display bezels while retaining the iPhone 14–based OLED panel used in the 16e, according to a new report from The Elec.


Citing supply chain sources, the Korean-language report says BOE will again produce most of the panels for the second generation of Apple's more affordable "e" iPhone model, with Samsung Display and LG Display supplying the rest. However, the report does not claim that the iPhone 17e will feature a Dynamic Island, as has previously been rumored.

In August, Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station claimed that the iPhone 17e will gain upgrades including the Dynamic Island and the A19 chip. The current iPhone 16e features a notch at the top of the display, similar to the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 14, and an A18 chip. Apple introduced the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models.

As things stand, slimmer bezels are more believable than claims that the device will gain Dynamic Island. Apple could slim down the bezels without changing the display panel itself, since bezel size is largely determined by the frame and how tightly the screen fits into the chassis.

If Apple is reusing the mass-produced OLED panel from the iPhone 14 to keep costs down, it can still refresh the look of the device by tweaking the frame and reducing the border around the display. It's the kind of update that would deliver a noticeable design improvement without adding much to manufacturing costs.

Dynamic Island, however, is harder to implement. Apple can't simply add the feature to an older notch-based display. The pill-shaped cutout requires a reworked TrueDepth camera layout, revised sensor placement, and updated display masking.

Adopting Dynamic Island would mean scrapping several of the components and production efficiencies Apple is reportedly trying to reuse for the 17e. Bringing in new tooling and redesigned sensor modules would therefore seem to defeat the cost-saving strategy that defines Apple's "e" line. Retaining the notch on the second version also differentiates the lower-cost device from Apple's premium flagship iPhone 17 models.

Today's report also backs claims that the iPhone 17e will retain a 6.1-inch OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate. BOE has not yet been able to reliably produce low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels for iPhone 17 models, but it can produce low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT panels, which the iPhone 16e uses. LTPS panels can't support the variable refresh rate that iPhone 17 models tout.

Reliable sources such as Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and The Elec agree that the ‌iPhone‌ 17e is on schedule to launch early next year.
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OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic.


Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation, and model behavior like speed and reliability.

Google debuted Gemini 3 Pro in November, and it outperforms ChatGPT on several benchmarking tests. Google has been luring users with its Nano Banana AI image generator and Anthropic's Claude is popular with business customers.

OpenAI's plan to start showing customers ads leaked earlier this week, but Altman told employees that ads are now on the backburner. Work on advertising, shopping AI agents, and a more proactive and personalized version ChatGPT assistant called Pulse has been delayed. OpenAI has been testing several kinds of ads, including ads that would be shown during online shopping requests, but introducing ads could push users to other chatbots.

Following the employee memo, ChatGPT lead Nick Turley announced that OpenAI would focus on "making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world -- while making it feel even more intuitive and personal."

OpenAI is not profitable, and it has to rely on its user numbers for investments. If it loses a significant number of users to Google, it could run into financial trouble.

OpenAI will ship a new reasoning model next week, which Altman said is ahead of Gemini 3 in internal evaluations.
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Germany is evaluating Apple's proposed changes to address antitrust concerns over App Tracking Transparency (ATT), reports Reuters. Apple plans to tweak the text and formatting of the ATT consent prompt, while aiming to preserve the main privacy benefits of the feature.


Apple will add neutral consent prompts for its own services and for third-party apps, aligning the wording, content, and visual design of the messages. Apple also plans to simplify the consent process to make it easier for developers to get user permission for ad-related data processing.

Germany is asking for feedback from publishers, media groups, and regulators to determine if Apple's changes will address complaints about the limited amount of user data available to app publishers.

Earlier this year, Apple said that it might have to remove ATT from the EU. "Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers," Apple said.

Germany first launched a probe into App Tracking Transparency in 2022 after complaints from advertisers, and in February 2025, the German Federal Cartel Office preliminarily decided that Apple abused its market power, giving itself preferential treatment. According to German regulators, Apple's restrictions made it "far more difficult" for developers to access user data relevant for advertising.

Introduced in 2021, App Tracking Transparency lets iPhone and iPad users decide whether to allow apps to track their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. Users can choose to allow apps to ask for permission, or turn off tracking entirely.

ATT prevents apps from accessing the advertising identifier of Apple devices without express consumer permission, so apps can't track what users do and use that data for ad targeting. ATT has been unpopular with advertisers and data brokers, but Apple has pledged to work to convince Germany and other EU countries to allow it to continue to offer ATT to consumers.
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Apple is not going to be able to escape a class-action antitrust lawsuit over anticompetitive App Store fees in the Netherlands, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) said today. The decision could see Apple facing millions of euros in damages, and it sets a precedent for similar lawsuits in other European countries (via Reuters).


Apple could ultimately have to pay up to an estimated 637 million euros to address the damage suffered by 14 million iPhone and iPad users in the Netherlands.

The lawsuit dates back to 2022, when two Dutch consumer foundations (Right to Consumer Justice and ‌App Store‌ Claims) accused Apple of abusing its dominant market position and charging developers excessive fees. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dutch ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ users, and it claimed that Apple's 30 percent commission inflated prices for apps and in-app purchases.

Apple argued that the Dutch court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the EU ‌App Store‌ is run from Ireland, and therefore the claims should be litigated in Ireland. Apple said that if the Dutch court was able to hear the case, it could lead to fragmentation with multiple similar cases across the EU, plus it argued that customers in the Netherlands could have downloaded apps while in other EU member states.

The District Court of Amsterdam ended up asking the CJEU if it had the jurisdiction to hear the case, and the CJEU said yes. The court decided that the ‌App Store‌ in question was designed for the Dutch market, and it offers Dutch apps for sale to people with an Apple ID associated with the Netherlands, giving Dutch courts jurisdiction.

Apple told Reuters that it disagrees with the court's ruling, and that it will continue to vigorously defend itself. The District Court of Amsterdam expects to hear the case toward the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The civil ‌App Store‌ fee case that Apple is now facing in the Netherlands is separate from the dating app case that was levied against Apple by ACM, the Dutch competition authority. That case involved regulatory action that led to new alternative purchase options for Dutch dating apps. Apple has also been fighting that antitrust case, and racked up fines of 50 million euros.
This article, "Apple Can't Escape Dutch App Store Antitrust Lawsuit, EU Court Rules" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today released new firmware for the iPhone Air's MagSafe battery accessory. The firmware has a version number of 8B25, up from the prior 8A351 version. In the Settings app, the new firmware is listed as 99.0 while the prior firmware is 91.0.


This is the second firmware update that Apple has provided to ‌iPhone Air‌ users since the battery was released in September. Apple does not provide details on what's included in firmware updates for accessories, but the new firmware likely provides efficiency and performance updates.

Accessory firmware updates are done quietly without the user knowing about them, so Apple does not offer installation instructions. ‌MagSafe‌ Battery firmware should update when the battery is connected to the ‌iPhone Air‌, but you can also force an update by connecting the battery pack to a Mac.

You can check the version number of the ‌MagSafe‌ Battery's firmware by attaching it to an ‌iPhone Air‌, then going to Settings > General > About > ‌iPhone Air‌ ‌MagSafe‌ Battery.

The ‌MagSafe‌ Battery is exclusive to the ‌iPhone Air‌, and it provides ‌iPhone Air‌ users with up to an additional 65 percent charge. The Battery Pack is thin and light because it actually incorporates the exact same battery that Apple used in the ‌iPhone Air‌.
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