MacRumors

Meta is rolling out a new feature that lets people use public Instagram posts and reels to generate AI content, and it's turned on by default.

If you have an Instagram account that's not set to private, there is a setting allowing anyone to generate content on ‌Meta‌ AI using your images and videos. The option was added to support ‌Meta‌'s new image generation model, Muse Image. Muse Image is rolling out across Instagram, WhatsApp, and ‌Meta‌ AI, and it pulls in images from an Instagram account with just an @-mention. From ‌Meta‌'s description of Muse Image:

You can also @-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images. Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that's ready to post.

An Instagram help page explains that content on public Instagram accounts can be used for creating content with AI features, and you won't get a notification if someone uses your content to create an AI image.

If your account is public: Anyone on Instagram can reuse all or part of your reels, feed videos, and photos shared after reuse became available. Reels, feed videos, and photos can be reused in features like remix, sequence, templates and stickers. In addition, people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta.

‌Meta‌ opts all public Instagram accounts in by default, but there is an option to turn off AI permissions. In the Instagram app settings, scroll to Sharing and Reuse, then toggle off "Posts" and "Reels" under the "Allow people to create with and reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at ‌Meta‌."

Turn off the setting now if you don't want people using your content to create AI images, because AI content created prior to turning it off isn't deleted. Muse Image is still rolling out, and so is the toggle to turn off AI use. You may not see the opt-out option right away. Private Instagram profiles aren't included in Muse Image.

‌Meta‌ plans to expand Muse Image to Facebook and Messenger soon, and allow advertisers and agencies to use Muse Image to create content in the coming weeks. ‌Meta‌ is also working on a Muse Video feature.

Nintendo today said it is ending service for its Mario Kart Tour mobile game on Tuesday, September 29. There are no plans for an offline version of the game, so it will no longer be playable after that date.

In-game currency is no longer available for purchase, and Nintendo has ended automatic subscription renewals ahead of the shutdown date.

Players who had a Mario Kart Tour Gold Pass subscription will be able to use the benefits for free from now until September 29, while players who did not have a subscription will get the benefits starting on August 4.

The Gold Pass includes Gold Gifts, Gold Challenges, 200cc, an increase in the maximum coins and points that can be earned per day, and a pipe gauge that fills faster. Players who have rubies can use the currency in the Spotlight Shop, Mii Racing Suit Shop, and Coin Rush until service ends.

Mario Kart Tour launched in September 2019 and it was downloaded more than 90 million times during its first week of availability.

Like traditional Mario Kart games, Mario Kart Tour on iPhone and iPad tasked players with racing to beat their rivals to the finish line, using drifts and items to succeed. The game featured several tracks, and playable characters like Luigi, Toad, Shy Guy, Waluigi, Peach, and Toadette.

Nintendo has launched and then canceled several mobile games, including Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Miitomo, Dr. Mario World, and Dragalia Lost. Fire Emblem Heroes, Super Mario Run, and new game Pictonico continue to be available.

OpenAI today introduced GPT-Live, which it describes as a new generation of voice models meant to make talking to AI feel more like having a conversation with a real person. GPT-Live is meant to replace the existing ChatGPT voice experience.

GPT-Live is able to listen and speak at the same time, and it can show it is paying attention with acknowledgment phrases like "mhmm." The model was built for continuous interaction, and it can make decisions on whether to speak, continue listening, pause, interrupt, or use a tool multiple times per second.

Talking with ChatGPT should now feel much more like a real conversation. You can interrupt with a question, pause to gather your thoughts, or ask ChatGPT to slow down. It naturally acknowledges what you're saying with phrases like "mhmm" or "got it," so you know it's following along. We've also remastered the nine distinct voices in ChatGPT for GPT-Live.

OpenAI says GPT-Live is its smartest voice model to date, using the latest frontier model (currently GPT–5.5) for web search, deep reasoning, and complex work. While GPT-Live works on a task, it is able to continue a conversation, and then give the results of a task when it's finished. It also works for live translation, and displays rich visual cards for weather, stocks, sports, and more.

OpenAI is rolling out GPT-Live–1 and GPT-Live–1 mini to ChatGPT users worldwide starting today. GPT-Live–1 is the default for Go, Plus, and Pro users, while GPT-Live–1 mini is the default for Free users.

ChatGPT users can tap the Voice button to talk with ChatGPT and experience GPT-Live. GPT-Live does not yet support voice with video or screen sharing in ChatGPT, but OpenAI is working to add that feature soon.

Apple earned its highest number of Emmy nominations to date in 2026, with popular shows like Pluribus, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Widow's Bay, Shrinking, and Slow Horses earning the most nominations. New series Widow's Bay received 19 nominations, while Pluribus was second with 18 nominations.

The five most highly nominated shows are up for best series in their respective categories, and have also earned several lead actress and actor nominations.

Pluribus

• Outstanding Drama Series
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Rhea Seehorn, Carol Sturka
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Manousos
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Karolina Wydra, Zosia
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Miriam Shor, Helen
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - Jeff Hiller, Larry
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Margo's Got Money Troubles

• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Elle Fanning
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nick Offerman, Jinx Millet
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Michelle Pfeiffer, Shyanne Millet

Slow Horses

• Outstanding Drama Series
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Gary Oldman, Jackson Lamb
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Jack Lowden, River Cartwright
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - Jonathan Pryce, David Cartwright
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Shrinking

• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Jason Segel, Jimmy
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Jessica Williams, Gaby
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Harrison Ford, Paul
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Michael Urie, Brian
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Brett Goldstein, Louis
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Michael J. Fox, Gerry

Widow's Bay

• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Matthew Rhys, Mayor Tom Loftis
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Dale Dickey, Rosemary
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Stephen Root, Wyck
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Kate O'Flynn, Patricia
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series - Betty Gilpin, Sarah Westcott Warren
• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Hamish Linklater, Richard Warren
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

The Morning Show

• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Billy Crudup, Cory Ellison

Your Friends & Neighbors

• Outstanding Drama Series

Apple also received nominations in categories for music, sound, picture editing, and more. Other titles up for those awards include Murderbot, Mr. Scorsese, Palm Royale, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

The full list of nominations can be found on the Television Academy website. Winners will be announced live on Monday, September 14 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on NBC.

Apple yesterday published a new support document warning that macOS 28 will no longer support encrypted Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes, meaning affected external drives will need to be decrypted or reformatted ahead of the update.

Starting with macOS 28, "the Mac OS Extended file system format will be supported only for volumes (disks and other storage devices) that aren't encrypted." Any encrypted HFS+ disks, such as older encrypted external hard drives, will stop working with the Mac unless users take action before upgrading.

Apple has not given a specific reason for the change. APFS, which natively supports encryption, has been the default file system on the Mac since macOS High Sierra launched in 2017, and dropping encrypted HFS+ support looks like a further nudge toward retiring the older format altogether.

The transition will start showing up before macOS 28 arrives. Apple says that beginning with macOS 26, a Mac might notify users if it detects an encrypted Mac OS Extended disk that will not carry over to macOS 28 or later, identifying the affected volume by name.

Users can also check manually through Disk Utility by selecting a volume and looking at the format details listed beneath its name; a volume showing both "Mac OS Extended" and "Encrypted," such as "CoreStorage Logical Volume • Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted)," will be incompatible.

Unencrypted Mac OS Extended volumes are not affected. Apple says macOS 28 and later will continue to support them, and notes that Mac OS Extended is also known as HFS Plus, or HFS+.

For anyone who wants to keep using an affected drive after upgrading, Apple recommends backing up its contents first, then either reformatting or decrypting it. Reformatting means erasing the volume and setting it up again in APFS or APFS (Encrypted) format through Disk Utility, which permanently deletes existing data but ensures the drive keeps working in future versions of macOS.

Decrypting is the alternative for anyone who wants to preserve their existing data on the drive. That involves connecting the drive, unlocking it with its encryption password, then Control-clicking its icon in the Finder or on the desktop and choosing Decrypt, entering the password a second time to begin the process. Apple notes that decryption "takes time, especially for large volumes," and progress can be checked in Terminal.

Once decryption finishes, users can optionally convert the volume to APFS without erasing it via Disk Utility's Convert to APFS option, and re-encrypt it afterward if desired. Apple notes that this decryption path does not apply to encrypted Time Machine backup disks.

Code spotted in the third developer beta of iOS 27 suggests that Apple is preparing to add car key support for Lucid and Xiaomi vehicles, and that the feature could be nearing launch.

The code references the identifiers "LCID" and "XIA1," which appear to correspond to Lucid and Xiaomi respectively. With an Apple car key, drivers can use their iPhone or Apple Watch to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle instead of relying on a traditional key fob.

Lucid Motors was already named as one of 13 brands Apple said would "soon" gain car key support at WWDC 2025, alongside Acura, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Porsche, Rivian, Smart, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah. Apple did not give a timeframe for that rollout at the time, and Lucid has yet to formally confirm when the feature will arrive on its Air or Gravity models.

Xiaomi's inclusion would be new. The Chinese electronics maker has expanded rapidly into electric vehicles with models like the SU7 sedan and YU7 SUV, and car key support would mark one of the company's first tie-ins with Apple's ecosystem despite Xiaomi being a major Apple rival in the smartphone market.

This is not the first time code has recently hinted at car key support ahead of an official announcement. MacRumors previously found code pointing to Volkswagen adding Apple Wallet car keys to future vehicles, and similar backend references preceded confirmed support for General Motors brands. As with those cases, the code does not confirm which specific models will be compatible or give an exact date, though its presence in a live beta suggests Lucid and Xiaomi support could arrive relatively soon.

It is now July and we are still waiting for Apple to begin its annual Back to School offer in countries like the U.S. and Canada — if it is still coming.

In the U.S., Apple launched its Back to School offer in June from 2020 through 2025, but it has waited until July in the more distant past:

• 2025: June 17
• 2024: June 20
• 2023: June 5
• 2022: June 24
• 2021: June 17
• 2020: June 15
• 2019: July 9
• 2018: July 12
• 2017: July 12

Last year, college students and educational staff could receive a free accessory like AirPods 4 or an Apple Pencil Pro with the purchase of a qualifying Mac or iPad model. It is unclear what Apple plans to offer this year, but given the company recently raised prices on all Macs and iPads, this year's promotion would be rather bittersweet.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple planned to launch its 2026 Back to School offer by last week, but that did not end up happening. Apple may have decided to hold off until July this year in order to give customers more time to digest the price increases that it implemented last month, but we are merely speculating.

Given the offer launched between July 9 and July 12 in 2017 through 2019, hopefully the 2026 offer arrives over the next few days.

UNiDAYS verification is now required on Apple's education store in the U.S. and Canada.

Amazon today has knocked the price of the 512GB MacBook Neo down to $689.99, from $799.00. This sale is only available in the Indigo color option, and it makes the 512GB model cheaper than the current price of the 256GB model on Amazon.

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.

This marks the first notable discount on the MacBook Neo since Apple's price hikes in June. Amazon provides a mid-to-late July delivery estimate for the Indigo 512GB model, and we don't know how long this sale will last, so be sure to take advantage while it's live.

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.

Update: This deal has expired.

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Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), according to a new report from the Financial Times.

Last week, it emerged that Apple was in discussions with CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) about sourcing memory, with no deal finalized. The new details suggest Apple has since progressed to qualifying CXMT's chips specifically, running the company's memory through the kind of technical validation that typically precedes a supplier being approved for production use. Apple has apparently still not committed to using CXMT's chips commercially, and is continuing to lead a lobbying effort among U.S. tech companies to get Washington's blessing for broader use of the supplier's products.

CXMT has grown from a heavily subsidized and unremarkable domestic chip maker into the world's fourth-largest DRAM producer, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, accounting for roughly 11% of global DRAM wafer capacity last year. That share is expected to climb to 15% by 2028 as new production lines come online in Hefei, Shanghai, and Beijing. Qualifying CXMT as a working supplier now would let Apple tap into that capacity as soon as it needs to, rather than starting the testing process from scratch once a political green light arrives.

Standard DRAM contract prices are reported to have surged an estimated 55% to 60% in early 2026 as AI server demand pulled capacity away from consumer devices, and Apple recently raised prices across almost its entire product lineup as a result. A qualified fourth DRAM supplier would give Apple leverage in future negotiations with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, as well as a potential hedge against further shortage-driven price increases on devices built for the Chinese market.

Both CXMT and YMTC appear on the Pentagon's 1260H roster of firms Washington links to the Chinese military. In practice, that mostly cuts off Defense Department contracting rather than blocking ordinary commercial purchases, so nothing legally stops Apple from buying CXMT chips today. YMTC carries a heavier restriction, since it's also on the Commerce Department's Entity List, meaning any U.S. company needs an export license before dealing with it. What Apple reportedly wants from the administration is a promise that CXMT won't get pushed onto that same Entity List down the road, since that would effectively cut off the supply.

Back in 2022, an earlier attempt to work with Chinese memory suppliers, including YMTC, drew objections from Washington and was shelved after lawmakers pushed back. According to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now taken the pitch directly to administration officials, framing it as a way to route Chinese-made memory into devices for the Chinese market specifically, which would leave more Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron chips available for products sold elsewhere. Not everyone in the administration is said to be on board, so it remains unclear whether the lobbying push will succeed.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Amazon is taking $150 off multiple models of the M5 MacBook Air, including deals on both 13-inch and 15-inch models. These are some of the lowest prices we've seen on the notebooks in the wake of Apple's price hikes last month.

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.

In terms of 13-inch models, Amazon has the 16GB/1TB 13-inch MacBook Air for $1,449.00, down from $1,599.00. This one is available in three colors on Amazon, and it's currently the only 13-inch model on sale for $150 off.

Regarding the 15-inch models, you'll also find $150 off the M5 MacBook Air, with multiple color options on sale for each configuration. Prices start at $1,349.00 for the 512GB model, down from $1,299.00, and also include one 1TB model on sale.

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 CEO Tim Cook and incoming CEO John Ternus are attending this year's Sun Valley Conference, according to Forbes.

Allen & Co., the boutique investment firm behind the event, uses the conference as an annual excuse to put media, tech, and finance leaders in the same rooms for a week of closed-door talks at the Sun Valley Lodge. This year's event began on July 7 and is expected to run through July 11.

This marks Cook's final Sun Valley trip as Apple's chief executive officer. Apple announced in April that Ternus will take the CEO title on September 1, ending Cook's 15-year run atop the company as he moves into the newly created executive chairman role.

Apple's SVP of Services and Health, Eddy Cue, is also attending the Sun Valley Conference again this year. Cue has been a regular at the conference in previous years.

This year's guest list places Apple's leadership alongside a heavy concentration of AI industry figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Beyond the AI contingent, this year's attendees include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

Sun Valley's reputation as a dealmaking backdrop goes back decades. Casual conversations at the resort are widely credited with laying the groundwork for Disney buying ABC in 1995, Bezos picking up The Washington Post in 2013, and Verizon's 2014 deal for AOL.

Apple has suspended development of the display for a cheaper, lighter version of the Vision Pro that it originally planned to launch in the next few years, according to The Elec.

The Korean outlet says Apple supplier Samsung Display is set to internally wind down the panel project – known in the industry as "G-VR" – with development set to be formally terminated by September.

G-VR is a glass-substrate micro-OLED, a lower-cost alternative to the silicon-based OLEDoS used in the current Vision Pro. It was being developed at around 1,600 to 1,700 pixels per inch, which is roughly half the 3,386 PPI of Apple's Vision Pro. The report says mass production had once been planned for sometime after 2028.

Apple has since turned much of its attention away from headsets in favour of smart glasses development, which has apparently drained momentum from the G-VR glass-substrate. However, Samsung continues to develop OLEDoS panels for the company's own mixed-reality devices, according to the report.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in October 2025 that Apple had paused work on a lighter, cheaper "Vision Air" to fast-track glasses that would rival Meta's Ray-Bans. In May 2026, Gurman reported that the cheaper device had been canceled outright.

Apple hasn't walked away from the headset market entirely, though. If a new Vision Pro-style device does materialize, Gurman said in May that he wouldn't expect it for "around two more years at least," given that the bulk of Apple's mixed-reality hardware talent has been pulled onto other projects like smart glasses, which are expected to launch in 2027.

Apple refreshed the Vision Pro in October 2025 with an updated model featuring an M5 chip. Last month, Apple upped the starting price of its Vision Pro from $3,499 to $3,699 as part of the company's sweeping product price hikes.

Samsung has announced it will introduce its latest Galaxy smartphones at a July 22 event, including what is believed to be a Galaxy Z Fold 8 with new passport-style dimensions similar to Apple's upcoming book-style foldable iPhone.

It's no secret that Samsung has been working on a new foldable form factor to go head-to-head with Apple's rumored iPhone Ultra, and the company has been hinting at what's to come. Today's event announcement includes a video of a show ticket having its stub torn off to make it shorter than before – clearly alluding to the new device. "A new shape unfolds," reads the tagline.

The shorter, wider version of Samsung's book-style foldable is said to resemble Apple's own folding device, which is expected to have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID. Apple is anticipated to debut the foldable in September alongside its new iPhone 18 Pro models.

Apart from unveiling the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Samsung is expected to announce new versions of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which also unfolds like a book, and the clamshell-style Galaxy Z Flip 7. New Galaxy Watches are also expected. Galaxy Unpacked will be held in London, U.K., starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 22.

On Tuesday, Google revealed that it will introduce its latest Pixel smartphones at an August 12 event, debuting the updated devices about a month ahead of when Apple is expected to announce new iPhone models.

Apple today announced its multiyear partnership with Broadcom to design and produce custom silicon components and wireless technologies, confirming a Reuters report we covered on Monday.

Apple says the new agreement is expected to exceed $30 billion, and will lead to the creation of more than 15 billion U.S. chips and support "hundreds" of American jobs.

Broadcom is part of Apple's American Manufacturing Program (AMP), an initiative launched last year to boost U.S. manufacturing. Under Apple's largest AMP commitment to date, Broadcom will invest $1.5 billion to expand and modernize its manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, where it will produce advanced radio frequency components, including FBAR filters, as well as wireless connectivity technologies.

"Apple and Broadcom have a long history together, and this new phase of our partnership further accelerates our commitment to American manufacturing and innovation," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "The cutting-edge components built in Fort Collins are essential to delivering the incredible performance and connectivity our customers expect, and we're proud to deepen our investments in U.S.-based suppliers that share our commitment to excellence and innovation. We're grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this one."

Broadcom's chips cover custom radio frequency components, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and other networking semiconductors found throughout Apple's lineup. Apple says the investment is part of its commitment to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over four years.

Apple's foldable iPhone is on track to ship in September despite rumors of a delayed launch, reports Chinese financial outlet Cailian Press.

The outlet says it spoke with several people within Apple's supply chain, who indicated that the device's design was locked in some time ago and that the foldable is now in mass production.

Separately, Chinese financial outlet East Money and Korea's The Bell reported that Apple's foldable has entered mass production, with assembly partner Foxconn launching large-scale hiring to secure labor.

Asked about rumors that its launch could slip due to complex assembly and low yields, sources who spoke to Cailian Press reportedly said they had not heard of any delay, and that a September delivery window was still expected.

The report provides a glimmer of hope for consumers eager to pre-order one of the devices in early fall. Last month, The Elec reported that mass production was set to begin in July, but it also said Apple had run into hinge problems during testing. While most of those issues were said to have since been resolved, it raised the odds of a small initial shipment following the device's launch.

Then over the weekend, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested the foldable will be unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in September but may not go on sale until the fourth quarter, suggesting a possible release in October or later.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in March that the new foldable iPhone won't ship to customers in the same September timeframe as the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max. However, a month later, Gurman said that the foldable iPhone remained on track for a September debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, and that Apple is aiming to put it on sale at roughly the same time or slightly later.

Apple has reportedly told suppliers to prepare to make approximately 10 million foldable iPhones this year, up from a previous forecast of about 7-8 million units a few months ago.

The book-style foldable is expected to feature a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch cover screen, an A20 chip, Apple's C2 modem in some countries, and a Touch ID power button, with a starting pricing rumored between roughly $2,000 and $2,500 across reports. Apple's foldable could launch as the "iPhone Ultra," as suggested by rumors.

Apple's challenge against the EU's designation of its App Stores and iOS platform as "gatekeepers" was dismissed by Europe's top court on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

"The General Court dismisses Apple's actions regarding its designation as a gatekeeper in relation to the App Store and iOS," the Luxembourg-based tribunal said.

Apple took its case to Luxembourg's General Court in 2024 after the European Commission designated its five App Stores – on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch – as a single core platform service under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a label that brings with it a set of strict obligations.

Designated "gatekeepers" are prohibited from favoring their own services over those of rivals, and are prevented from combining personal data across different services. They also have to give users the option to use alternative app stores.

Apple also challenged the EU's designation of iOS as a gateway platform, a status that requires the operating system allows rival services to interoperate with it.

The company also disputed the classification of iMessage as a number-independent interpersonal communications service, or NIICS, which would subject the app to EU telecoms rules. But the General Court said Apple's actions regarding the iMessage service are inadmissible.

To be classified as a "gatekeeper" under the DMA, a company must fulfill certain criteria, including having sales across the EU of at least €7.5 billion, or a market capitalization of €75 billion or above. The designation also requires platforms or services to have more than 45 million monthly active users and over 10,000 active business users annually within the EU.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

The Messages app is arguably the most important app on the iPhone, and in iOS 27, Apple is adding some useful improvements. There are some quality-of-life fixes for longtime issues, and new AI features.

Contextual Suggestions

Messages uses Apple Intelligence to surface one-tap suggestions based on what's being discussed in a conversation. If someone you're talking to asks you to send a photo, Messages recognizes the request and suggests adding the relevant photos.

If someone invites you to an event, Messages offers to add it to your Calendar. If someone asks you to pick something up at the store, Messages will suggest adding it to your Reminders list or to the Notes app.

Messages will also suggest Genmoji you might want to generate based on the conversation.

Write With Siri

There's a systemwide Write with Siri feature that's available in the Messages app. ‌Siri‌ AI can compose entire messages for you, proofread your messages, or give you feedback.

There is a dedicated Write with ‌Siri‌ button above the keyboard where you can get to the new ‌Siri‌ tools.

Smart Reply suggestions also use your writing style so they sound more natural.

Siri AI

‌Siri‌ AI integrates with the Messages app. You can ask ‌Siri‌ to find images, videos, links, addresses, phone numbers, and more in the Messages app, plus ‌Siri‌ can draft message replies and act on info in the Messages app, like adding an event date to the Calendar app.

Drawing

You can use a new Drawing interface in the Messages app to send little sketches and notes. It's available when tapping on the "+" button next to the text bar in a conversation.

The drawing interface is the same as the Markup tool available in apps like Photos and Notes. There's a marker, a pen, a highlighter, and an eraser, plus options to use the tools in any color.

Accidental Recordings

The ‌iOS 27‌ Messages app includes an option to remove the audio button from the text bar. In the Messages section of the Settings app, you can navigate to Show in Text Field to set the right-side button to Record Audio, Start Dictation, or None.

Setting the option to none will prevent you from accidentally recording a voice message with an errant tap.

Tapbacks

Messages now consolidates notifications for Tapback responses, which is useful when you're in a group thread and tons of people are sending emojis.

Sending

When a message fails to send in ‌iOS 27‌, your iPhone will automatically retry sending it. In iOS 26, you get an alert if a message fails, but you have to manually tap to try to send it again.

The Messages app also supports continuous sending of photos, videos, and texts. If you're sending someone a photo and your connection is poor or you go offline, it automatically resumes sending when the connection is restored.

Syncing

Cross-device syncing is improved in ‌iOS 27‌, so conversations will sync more reliably across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. Fewer messages will fail to sync and display properly when you switch between devices.

Messages, read states, reactions, and attachments sync faster.

When you take a photo and then go to the Messages app to send it, you're more likely to see it right away. Apple says the iPhone is faster to add recent camera captures to Messages.

Search

Apple improved its search index across apps like Mail and Messages, so you're more likely to find what you're looking for.

You can also search for conversations in Messages using a phone number or a contact's nickname.

Offloaded Media

If you have photos or videos that have been offloaded to save storage space, you can still find them in the ‌iOS 27‌ Messages app when you search.

Thumbnails are also displayed for offloaded media instead of a placeholder image, so you know what's there.

RCS

In RCS message conversations with Android users, you can now long press on a message to send an inline reply. ‌iOS 27‌ also shows reaction emoji directly on images and videos, a feature that was not functioning in ‌iOS 26‌.

Genmoji

Apple revamped ‌Genmoji‌ creation in ‌iOS 27‌. There's an updated interface for describing an emoji that you want, with options to start from an existing emoji, choose an image from ‌Photos‌, or select a person.

After uploading an image or using a text phrase to create a ‌‌Genmoji‌‌, there's a new "Describe a change" interface for making updates to what you've already created. You can iterate on designs and change individual elements of a ‌‌Genmoji‌‌, tweaking colors and objects. Each change uses the old base instead of regenerating a new ‌‌Genmoji‌‌.

With a series of requests, it is possible to make a complicated, multi-element ‌‌Genmoji‌‌. Along with describing changes, you can add in additional emoji, and the interface makes suggestions on what to do next.

‌‌Genmoji‌‌ output is more consistent, and ‌‌Genmoji‌‌ look more like real emoji with a 3D, cartoonish style by default. There is now an option to change style, so if you don't want the cartoonish look, you can ask for something else like a drawing or a sketch.

Large Conversations

Large conversations load and scroll faster in ‌iOS 27‌, according to Apple.

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More on all of the features in ‌iOS 27‌ can be found in our iOS 27 guide.

Popular flight tracking app Flighty has a new Connection Assistant that helps travelers make connecting flights at airports worldwide.

Connection Assistant gives flyers a step-by-step guide for all connections on a trip. It will outline whether users need to go through passport control, recheck a bag, go through security, or change terminals, and it gives an estimate of how long the process will take. Adding a passport to the app will let users know if they can use e-gates or skip passport control.

Users will get a heads-up on how tight a connecting flight is based on recommended minimums for planning purposes, and how long it typically takes to get from one flight to another. Flighty says Connection Assistant combines flight tracking data with airport-specific procedures and statistical modeling of millions of prior flights to create a custom walkthrough for each flight.

Flighty is also now able to predict arrival and departure gates, gate range, or concourse when a flight is first added to the app. The predictions are based on the flight's historical gates, and on the day of a connection, predictions will narrow to the exact gate.

Flighty can be downloaded from the App Store for free, with weekly, monthly, annual, and lifetime purchase options for Pro features.