Apple today shared a new television ad on its YouTube channel, designed to introduce people to the new Screen Effects feature in iOS 10. In the minute-long spot, a sole red balloon drifts through mountains, over the sea, and through hilly terrain to reach the city, where it's joined by hundreds of additional balloons floating through the streets.
The shot pans to an iPhone user who receives a "Happy Birthday" message, where balloons fill up the screen to accompany the text. It ends with the tagline "Expressive messages on iPhone 7. Practically magic."
Introduced in iOS 10, Screen Effects are designed to make the messages experience more emotive, personal, and fun. Screen Effects temporarily alter the look of the Messages display with full screen animations that play alongside text messages. There are several animations, ranging from balloons and confetti to lasers and fireworks.
With certain keywords like "Congratulations!" or "Happy Birthday!" Screen Effects play automatically whenever the relevant text phrase is sent to an iPhone user who has iOS 10 installed.
Apple today shared a new ad that promotes MacBooks as the "best choice for college."
In the 90-second video, students are frustrated by but eventually overcome creative block while working on assignments like screenplays and CADs.
"Mac laptops are your best choice for college," says Apple. "Whether you're studying business, engineering, design, or the arts — get started on Mac."
The...
Apple released iOS 26.5 yesterday with a new Suggested Places feature in the Apple Maps app, which is a precursor to the ads that Apple plans to start showing later this year. There was some confusion over whether ads are live, but as of now, the Apple Maps app still doesn't have ads.
Apple did start laying the groundwork for ads in iOS 26.5 and tested a splash screen, but no ads appeared...
Wednesday June 3, 2026 11:08 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared a new Beats Pill ad that pays tribute to the reality TV show Love Island USA, which returned for an eighth season this week.
The ad does not mention Love Island USA, but the "Pill People" are said to have "entered the villa," which is a clear reference to the show.
"If you're binging a full summer of island drama, you'll need battery life that can keep up," says Apple. ...
I find apples new ads to be stupid. Honestly, my favorite was the retina macbook pro ad they ran years ago for the 15 inch. short sweet and to the point.
