9to5Mac

Apple introduced new HomeKit architecture back in 2022, with the primary aim of making the smart home system more reliable. At the time, users could choose between upgrading or remaining on the original version of the platform.

Fast–forward to March of this year, and 9to5Mac discovered code showing that the company was planning to drop support for the old version. That was subsequently confirmed by Apple, and a further reminder has now been found in the latest iOS 18.6 beta – with a little more detail …

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macOS Tahoe 26 represents one of the more dramatic changes we’ve seen to the look and feel of the Mac operating system in recent years.

There’s new functionality too, of course, and Apple thinks the blend of the two will greatly enhance the experience of Mac users …

Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist has been around for a full decade now, aiming to introduce you to singers and bands you don’t know but may like, with particular emphasis on emerging artists. It’s been great for me, but if it isn’t quite hitting the spot, you can now help it do better …

An alleged Verizon data breach has seen hackers offering for sale a database of 61 million customer records, which includes personal information useful for both phishing attempts and identity theft.

Update: Verizon told us it has checked the data and it is not from its customers – see the end of the piece.

Analyst Ming–Chi Kuo has suggested that Apple plans to launch an all–new MacBook next year, powered by an iPhone processor. Specifically, he expects it to have the A18 Pro chip which currently powers the iPhone 16 Pro line–up.

While there’s no word on pricing, the only way the report makes sense is if Apple is targeting an even lower price than the $999 starting–point of the current MacBook Air. Indeed, if you factor in discounted pricing on that, then it would have to be significantly cheaper. But there may be a more cynical possibility …

Apple last week announced an insanely complex set of changes to its App Store terms in the EU, and hidden in the small–print is one sign that the company might be reducing its standard commission from 30% to 20%, and that it may make this change globally.

If so, it would be the first time the company has ever reduced its 30% cut for all developers, and might go a long way to tackling its legal battles with antitrust regulators around the world …

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has said that the platform is being spammed by AI bots, and is now in “an arms race” to detect and block these fake posts.

The irony here is that the very reason Reddit is being targeted by bots is because the company sells access to user posts for AI training …

Some data brokers may be illegally selling your information – preventing you from finding out what personal data is held, and opting out from its collection and resale.

Privacy campaigners say they’ve “uncovered a troubling pattern” that may indicate companies who collect and re–sell personal data may not be complying with state laws …

Anyone running a beta version of any software should of course expect issues, but if you own an Apple Watch Hermès, you’ll want to completely avoid the beta 2 versions of both watchOS 26 and iOS 26.

Apple has warned of an incompatibility issue between watchOS 26 beta 2 and the Hermès watch, believed to be due to a problem with the watch faces unique to that model …

While the rush to AI–ify all the things gets exceedingly silly at times, adding intelligence to Ring security cameras does at least have the potential to be a smart move.

The company has announced a beta version of Video Descriptions, which attempts to describe exactly what doorbell and other security cameras are seeing when notifying you …

The new Finder icon in the first beta of macOS Tahoe 26 raised a lot of eyebrows when Apple did more than glassify it: the company also flipped the light and dark sides.

The internet wasn’t happy, and beta 2 saw the natural order of things restored – but many still think Apple has lost sight of an essential element, and one designer has put it right …

2025 iPad Pro production is reportedly already underway, as both Samsung and LG began making the displays earlier this month. The new models are expected to launch toward the end of the year, with October a likely bet.

However, the high pricing of the OLED iPad Pro models is said to have deterred many potential buyers last year, and the same is expected to be true this year …

Audi and Mercedes–Benz are among the car makers to reject CarPlay Ultra, despite Apple listing them as future partners, and they are not alone.

Aston–Martin was the first to adopt it, and Porsche has said that it will be doing so – but others previously named by Apple have either changed their minds, or are keeping suspiciously quiet …

When a serious emergency occurs, a picture can be worth a thousand words. It can be incredibly helpful to first responders to see ahead of time what they will be faced with when they arrive.

It is technically possible to send photos and video to 911 operators, but it’s a convoluted process. That’s set to change later this year …

When Jony Ive and Sam Altman teased their upcoming AI hardware device, we noted how mysterious they were being about its form factor.

While some were suggesting that it was a wearable, I said I felt pretty sure it wasn’t, and that’s now been confirmed by a court filing. A 9to5Mac reader last month made a plausible suggestion, and the latest development seems to me to add weight to the idea …

Congressional staffers working in the House of Representatives have been told that WhatsApp security risks means they must no longer use the app on government devices.

The ban was imposed by the Office of Cybersecurity, which has previously barred the use of TikTok and a number of AI apps …

The privacy-focused web browser DuckDuckGo has boosted its anti-scam features. It can now detect and block fake ecommerce stores, crypto sites, virus alerts, and more.

The new security feature is completely free for all users on both Mac and iOS browsers, with no Privacy Pro subscription needed …

Anker and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued a product recall for a popular power bank due to a fire safety risk …

Security researchers have discovered what they describe as “one of the largest data breaches in history,” comprising a staggering 16 billion logins, which include Apple accounts (formerly known as Apple IDs).

The researchers said that the stolen data gives cybercriminals “unprecedented access to personal credentials that can be used for account takeover, identity theft, and highly targeted phishing” …

If you’re a fan of retro Sega games – or just think you might be – you’ll want to download nine of them to your iPhone before they are discontinued …

Satechi’s latest SSD enclosure, the USB4 Slim NVMe SSD Enclosure, lets you add up to 8TB of SSD storage to any Mac – though it is specifically styled to make the perfect addition to an M4 Mac mini. You can currently save $20 to pick one up for $99.

The company says the design is inspired by a now-elderly form of storage: the Apple USB SuperDrive, a now-discontinued external CD and DVD drive …