MacRumors

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we take a look at Apple's upcoming software updates beyond iOS 18, including macOS 15, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and visionOS 2.

Like ‌iOS 18‌, macOS 15 is expected to receive a range of AI features. Apple reportedly plans to integrate AI features across several built-in apps, including Photos, Notes, Messages, and Mail. Siri is also expected to undergo significant enhancements with the ability to handle complex tasks such as summarizing articles, moving files between folders, and creating multi-step workflows. macOS 15 is also rumored to feature a redesigned Calculator app and enhanced Safari capabilities with an "Intelligent Search" option.

‌watchOS 11‌ is similarly due to bring new AI-powered features to the Apple Watch, such as a more advanced version of ‌Siri‌ that is better at handling on-the-go tasks. New workout types and additional watch faces are also expected. The update will likely drop support for the Apple Watch Series 4.

‌visionOS 2‌ may address some of the gaps from the initial release of the Vision Pro, such as the introduction of native versions of several Apple apps, such as Books, Calendar, and Maps. ‌visionOS 2‌ is also expected to feature systemwide Live Captions for improved accessibility, the ability to reorder apps on the Home screen, and respiration tracking in the Mindfulness app.

‌iPadOS 18‌ will be closely aligned with ‌iOS 18‌, bringing new AI features to the iPad. These likely include enhanced ‌Siri‌ capabilities, AI-assisted writing, and smart content summaries. The update will introduce a long-awaited native Calculator app to the ‌iPad‌ along with improvements to Notes, Voice Memos, and more. The Home screen is expected to be more customizable with the ability to place icons and widgets freely and change app icon colors. The Control Center may also benefit from design improvements and accessibility will be enhanced with eye tracking input.

Apple's WWDC 2024 keynote begins at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 10. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips:

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our discussion about latest iOS 18 rumors, including deeper Home Screen customization, AI-generated emojis, and more.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Kevin Nether, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Luke Miani, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

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Apple today started selling refurbished versions of the M3 MacBook Air models that were initially released in March, providing discounts on the new machines for the first time.

Pricing on the refurbished 13-inch M3 MacBook Air starts at $929, down from $1,099, while pricing on the refurbished 15-inch M3 ‌MacBook Air‌ starts at $1,099, down from $1,299.

Apple has many ‌MacBook Air‌ configurations available in both sizes at the current time, with upgraded options for additional memory and storage. Stock will naturally fluctuate as Apple sells refurbished machines and restocks with new devices, but there are plenty to choose from if you've been holding out for a discounted M3 ‌MacBook Air‌.

The 2024 MacBook Air models do not feature design updates, with the refresh focused on the improved M3 chip that is up to 30 percent faster than the prior-generation M2 chip.

Apple's refurbished Macs are close to identical to new products. They are subject to a refurbishment process that includes full functionality testing, with any defective modules replaced, as well as a thorough cleaning and inspection. Refurbished products are eligible for AppleCare+ and have the same 14-day return period as new Apple devices.

Amazon today has taken $200 off the 256GB 13-inch M3 MacBook Air, now available for $899.00 in Starlight, down from $1,099.00. Only Amazon has this deal, and it has an estimated delivery date of June 10 for most residences in the United States.

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 updated the MacBook Air back in March, coming in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes and with faster M3 chips. We aren't tracking as many discounts on the 15-inch version of the M3 MacBook Air this week, but there is a solid $200 markdown on the high-end 16GB RAM/512GB model on Amazon.

In regards to other 13-inch M3 MacBook Air models, Amazon has the 16GB RAM/512GB 13-inch MacBook Air for $1,329.00 in Space Gray, down from $1,499.00. This is another new all-time low price on the notebook, and it's also only available in one color at this time.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

iOS 18 will introduce at least two changes to the Tapback feature in the Messages app on the iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Introduced with iOS 10, Tapback icons are the heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, "HA HA" symbol, exclamation marks, and question mark that can be added to messages. In a report outlining his WWDC expectations, Gurman said these icons will look more colorful on iOS 18, whereas they currently have very basic designs.

More significantly, he said the Tapback system will work with any emoji starting on iOS 18, providing users with hundreds of new options to choose from. This means the Messages app would finally support in-line emoji reactions, a feature that other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram have offered for a long time. Currently, the Messages app only allows emoji to be added to messages as stickers.

It is unclear if the revamped Tapback system will also work with the AI-generated emoji feature previously reported to be coming with iOS 18.

Another much-requested feature coming to the Messages app with iOS 18 is the ability to schedule a message to be sent later, according to Gurman.

Apple will unveil iOS 18 and other major software updates for its platforms during its WWDC keynote, which will be live streamed via the Apple Events website, YouTube, Apple TV app, and Apple Developer app on June 10 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The new Messages features would extend to the iPad and Mac.

Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate its ChatGPT technology into iOS 18, which will go on general release in the fall. Until then, here's a way to interact with ChatGPT on your iPhone – whatever you're doing on it.

Last year, OpenAI launched its free-to-use ChatGPT app for iPhone and iPad. Using the app, you can interact with the AI chatbot via text input and voice, allowing you to make the most of its generative artificial intelligence to get answers to questions and receive advice on all manner of subjects. OpenAI says that ChatGPT can help with all of the following:

• Instant answers: Get precise information without sifting through ads or multiple results.
• Tailored advice: Seek guidance on cooking, travel plans, or crafting thoughtful messages.
• Creative inspiration: Generate gift ideas, outline presentations, or write the perfect poem.
• Professional input: Boost productivity with idea feedback, note summarization, and technical topic assistance.
• Learning opportunities: Explore new languages, modern history, and more at your own pace.

History is synced across devices, so you can see your ChatGPT interactions both on the web and on iOS devices, and it integrates the Whisper speech recognition system.

One of the lesser known features in the app is its Background Conversations feature. Basically, it allows ChatGPT to continue processing and responding to your queries even when the app is not actively open on the screen. This means you can switch to other apps or perform other tasks on your iPhone without interrupting the conversation. Here's how to fire it up.

Talk With ChatGPT in the Background on iPhone

1. Download the ChatGPT app for iPhone.
2. Launch the app, then log in to your OpenAI account or create a new one.
3. When the main screen appears, tap the headphones icon in the bottom-right corner to enter Voice Mode.
4. Allow ChatGPT to connect to Voice. After that, you can start interacting right away. There are manual controls which allow you to pause, resume, and exit the voice conversation. When you want to do something else on your iPhone, simply swipe out of the app to enable Background Conversations mode.

ChatGPT is now actively listening in the background, and all you need to do is start speaking to pick up where you left off. If you have an iPhone with Dynamic Island, you'll see the ChatGPT symbol and a microphone icon, indicating that it's listening and ready to chat.

If you lock your iPhone, Background Conversations mode will remain active, and it will appear as a Live Activity card on your Lock Screen. This means that you can continue to talk with ChatGPT while you're busy doing something else, as long as your iPhone is nearby. OpenAI says the Background Conversations feature is designed to be battery-efficient, and minimizes the impact on battery life by optimizing background processes and reducing unnecessary usage.

Change the Voice

Voice chat was created with a range of voice actors (perhaps you heard about the recent ScarJo controversy) and there are a handful to choose from if the current voice doesn't jibe with you.

1. Tap the sidebar icon in the top-left corner of the main ChatGPT window.
2. Tap your account profile to open Settings.
3. Under the "Voice Mode" section, tap Voice.
4. Choose from Breeze, Juniper, Ember, and Cove. You'll get a sample of the voice when you tap it.
5. Hit Confirm to confirm your voice choice.

Assign Voice Mode to iPhone Action Button

If you have an iPhone with an Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro models, for example) you can easily assign ChatGPT's Voice Mode to it for quick access.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Action Button.
3. Swipe to the Shortcut option, then tap the action selector.
4. Search for "ChatGPT," then select the Start voice conversation shortcut.

That's all there is to it. Now you can simply long press the Action button on your iPhone to begin a voice conversation, whether you're in another app or if your device is locked.

If you have privacy concerns about the feature, but still want to use the ChatGPT app, there's good news: This week, OpenAI quietly deployed a new option to turn off Background Conversations. You can find the toggle in Settings under the "Voice Mode" section. You'll know that it's disabled because the orange dot indicating mic activity won't be visible in the top-right corner of your iPhone's screen.

Voice Mode Is About to Get Better

Some exciting features in GPT-4's voice mode are on the horizon but haven't gone live yet. These include advanced controls for changing the emotion and tone of responses, making interactions feel even more natural. While you can already customize voices to some extent, the full integration of voice and visual inputs, which promises richer and more interactive experiences, is still in the works.

OpenAI also says developers will soon get access to a wider range of APIs to better tailor voice interactions for their needs, enhancing applications like customer service. Enhanced support for different accents and dialects is also coming, making the system more accessible globally. Finally, more detailed privacy controls for managing and reviewing voice data are being rolled out gradually. All in all, these updates will make GPT-4's voice mode even more versatile and user-friendly.

As the countdown to WWDC 2024 continues, Apple today highlighted the tools and programs that it makes available to developers, and announced an update to the Apple Developer Forums.

Apple says that the updated forums will connect developers with more experts and with other developers for timely responses to technical questions. Apple engineers will provide code-level support, plus the forums have been reorganized into a layout of topics, subtopics, and tags to make it easier to find information.

Apple's Newsroom article delves into how many developers are using some of the programs that Apple offers, such as meeting with Apple engineers in person and attending developer academies. Meet with Apple Experts saw close to 50,000 developer engagements online and in person in 2023. The Apple Vision Pro developer labs in cities that include Cupertino, New York, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo, were attended by 6,000 developers who worked with Apple experts on visionOS apps.

"It's an honor and a privilege for our teams to work directly with developers at every stage of their journeys, from students and hobbyists, to budding entrepreneurs and coding professionals," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "We're always looking for new ways to support this amazing community as they bring their visions to life and push the boundaries of what is possible."

More than 1,900 students attended Apple Developer Academies, and more than 1,800 went through an Apple Foundation Program in 2023, plus Apple also hosted five Entrepreneur Camp sessions. Apple in May debuted Pathways, which are easy-to-navigate collections of videos, documentation, and resources for developers. Since launch, more than 40,000 developers have accessed content on Pathways.

Apple also reminded developers that WWDC 2024 sessions and videos will be shared on YouTube through the new Apple Developer channel. Apple has always made WWDC videos available through the Developer app and website, but this is the first year the company will also be sharing the content on YouTube.

WWDC 2024 is set to begin next Monday with a keynote event that will take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Developers will be given access to Apple's newly announced software directly after the event in order to begin work on integrating new features into their apps.

Apple will announce its new AI feature set for Apple devices at WWDC on June 10, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that it will be officially called "Apple Intelligence."

The AI capabilities will be coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. The features will be opt-in, meaning Apple won't make users adopt them if they don't want to.

The processing requirements of AI will mean that users need an iPhone 15 Pro or one of the iPhone 16 models coming out this year to use it. For those using iPads or Macs, models will need an M1 chip at least. Apple's AI features will be powered by its own technology and tools from OpenAI, but there will also be a partnership with OpenAI that powers a ChatGPT-like chatbot.

Apple Intelligence is expected to handle basic AI tasks, and it will work mostly on-device. In other words, the model is powered by the device's onboard processor, rather than in the cloud. It's not clear what the criteria for a basic task will be, but Apple Intelligence is said to include code that determines if a request can be processed on device or requires Apple's servers.

Here are some of the key new AI-related features and changes rumored or previewed for iPhones, iPads, and Macs that we've covered so far:

• Apple Music: Auto-generated playlists and smarter song transitions.
• Apple News: AI-generated news article summaries.
• Health: New features powered by AI, but no specific details are known yet.
• Keynote and Pages: AI-powered features for auto-generating slides in Keynote, writing faster in Pages, and more.
• Mail: Incoming email categorization, and suggested replies to emails, as well as email thread summaries and text composition assistance.
• Messages: Suggested replies, custom emoji, message recaps.
• Notes: A built-in audio recording tool and audio transcriptions.
• Notifications: AI-generated notification summaries.
• Photos: AI-powered photo retouching.
• Safari: Browsing assistant that can summarize web pages.
• Siri: A smarter ChatGPT-inspired version of Siri with more per-app controls (in 2025).
• Spotlight: More intelligent search results and improved sorting.
• Voice Memos: Audio transcriptions.

Gurman says that The AI features will account for about half of Apple’s WWDC keynote presentation, which starts at 10 a.m. Pacific time on June 10.

For those unable to watch the live stream, or who prefer to read a text version of the announcements, we'll have live coverage both here on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive X (Twitter) account, so make sure to follow.

One of the major factors that contributed to Apple's heavy focus on artificial intelligence in iOS 18 was an experience that software chief Craig Federighi had with GitHub Copilot, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In a report on Apple's AI ambitions, WSJ says that Federighi became an AI "convert" after testing the Copilot coding tool introduced by Microsoft-owned GitHub. Copilot, which uses OpenAI technology, was created to help programmers write, troubleshoot, and translate code into different programming languages.

After "playing around" with GitHub Copilot in December of 2022, Federighi explained that he had "come to appreciate" generative AI, and he reportedly tasked engineering employees with creating new ways to integrate AI features into Apple's apps and features. Prior rumors have suggested that Apple is aiming to integrate AI into as many apps as possible with ‌iOS 18‌ and future software updates.

Apple accelerated development on internal generative AI development, even recruiting some former Apple Car employees to work on the technology, but it has also held discussions with OpenAI and Google and is expected to rely on both its internal AI models and external partnerships.

Rumors about features coming in ‌iOS 18‌ indicate that Federighi has been successful in incorporating AI into the operating system in a number of ways, with Apple planning to add AI features to Messages, Mail, Photos, and other key apps. Siri will also be overhauled with generative AI, making the personal assistant smarter and more capable.

A rundown of all of the new features rumored for ‌iOS 18‌ can be found in our roundup.

Netflix is testing a redesigned version of its TV app, reports The Verge, marking the first major overhaul to the app in the last decade. The new design is a notable departure from the current look, but it is more modern and puts more information about content front and center.

Customers were reportedly performing "eye gymnastics" looking around to different parts of the home screen in an attempt to find a show or movie to watch, so Netflix wanted to simplify the navigation experience. "We really wanted members to have an easier time figuring out if a title is right for them," Netflix senior director of product Pat Flemming told The Verge.

The static tiles for TV shows and movies are being replaced with tiles that extend when the remote lands on them, making information like the trailer and description more centralized. Right now, when scrolling through content, show or movie information is displayed at the top of the screen. With the updated interface, that information is shown in the middle of the display, and tiles for other shows are pushed to the side.

Hovering over a TV show or movie for an extended period of time will cause a short preview to automatically start playing.

Netflix plans to replace the left side navigation menu with a top bar menu that features search, home, shows, movies, and My Netflix, with the menu accessible by pressing the back button on the remote. The current Categories and New and Popular tabs will be removed, but New and Popular will be replaced with the My Netflix recommendations, and Categories will be available from the search tab.

The new design is being tested with a small group of subscribers to begin with, but it will be expanded to additional Netflix users in the coming months if it proves to be a popular change.

Google today announced that it is partnering with emergency technology company RapidSOS to allow U.S. Android users to text 911 in emergencies using its Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol.

When it is not possible to call 911, Android users will be able to send a text instead to get emergency help. The texting feature will provide precise location information to emergency responders, and it will let users send high-resolution photos and videos.

Texting 911 will be available to U.S. Android device owners who use Google Messages, but because it is a feature baked into ‌RCS‌, it could also expand to other devices like the iPhone. Later this year, Apple plans to adopt ‌RCS‌ to replace SMS/MMS.

The option to text 911 via ‌RCS‌ will roll out to emergency call centers across the United States starting this winter. In some places, it is already possible to text 911 over SMS, but not all emergency call centers support the technology. Google is aiming to bring texting to all call centers, and to improve the ability to send photos and videos with ‌RCS‌. Google says ‌RCS‌ for emergency 911 texts will bring the following benefits:

• Confirmation that an emergency request has been delivered and viewed.
• The ability to see if an emergency responder is replying to a message.
• Options for sending high-resolution photos and videos to more accurately relay what's going on in an emergency situation.
• Precise location sharing, language settings, and opt-in medical information sharing.

Google says that it is working with "partners across the industry" to expand access to emergency services through ‌RCS‌, and that it wants to make ‌RCS‌ the "standard for emergency services texting everywhere."

Apple plans to introduce a new Passwords app in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The Passwords app, which will serve as an alternative to third-party apps like 1Password and LastPass, will provide a simpler way for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users to access their stored login information.

There's already a Passwords feature built into Apple's operating systems, but it is hidden in the Settings app and it can be a little difficult to find for those who are not familiar with it. Apple has been gradually introducing new password features, such as storing logins and passwords, supporting one-time login codes, and offering password generation options directly in Safari.

Like the existing Passwords section in Settings, the dedicated Passwords app will be built on iCloud Keychain, Apple's feature that is able to sync login and password details across Apple devices. It will support all of the features that Passwords in Settings supports, and it will also work on the Vision Pro and Windows PCs.

The app includes logins and passwords for websites, Wi-Fi network passwords, and Passkeys, a feature that uses Face ID or Touch ID to log into websites instead of a password. Data from the app can be automatically inserted into websites and apps when a user logs in.

Apple's aim with the Passwords app is to encourage customers to use stronger passwords and avoid repeating passwords for multiple websites and services. Apple will be competing with longtime third-party password services like 1Password, and the company does plan to allow customers to import their passwords from other services.

Apple plans to unveil Passwords during next Monday's WWDC keynote event.

It's been three weeks since Apple introduced the new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, and after revisiting the iPad Pro last week, we thought we'd take a deeper look at the ‌iPad Air‌ now that it's been out long enough for day-to-day usage testing.

The ‌iPad Air‌ is the best iPad for people who want a powerful tablet that's also fairly affordable. The M2 chip is close to the same chip that Apple used in the prior-generation ‌iPad Pro‌, and while it's a little older now, it's still more than powerful enough for anything you might want to do on a tablet.

It is worth noting that Apple recently admitted an error and clarified that the ‌M2‌ chip in the ‌iPad Air‌ has a 9-core GPU instead of a 10-core GPU, but in comparing the ‌M2‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ with 10-core GPU to the ‌M2‌ ‌iPad Air‌ with 9-core GPU, there was basically no difference in performance for day-to-day tasks and even with more system intensive apps like those used for video editing.

As we said in our M4 ‌iPad Pro‌ review, there's nothing that can really tax the M4 chip, and that's also true of the ‌M2‌. With iPadOS 18 and the AI capabilities that Apple is working on, chip performance might become much more important in the future, but as of now, the ‌M2‌ ‌iPad Air‌ isn't going to really struggle with anything you throw at it.

The ‌iPad Air‌ doesn't have the OLED display technology of the ‌iPad Pro‌, and it lacks features like ProMotion 120Hz refresh rates, but it otherwise offers a lot of the features you get with the ‌iPad Pro‌ at much more affordable prices. The ‌iPad Pro‌ starts at $999, while the ‌iPad Air‌ starts at $599.

Face ID is not available on the ‌iPad Air‌, with Apple instead using a Touch ID power button. ‌Touch ID‌ isn't as reliable as ‌Face ID‌ because it can fail depending on finger placement, but it works fine for the most part. The ‌iPad Pro‌ has a Thunderbolt port, but the ‌iPad Air‌ is limited to USB-C, so you can't connect Thunderbolt devices.

You're mostly missing out on OLED and the M4 chip with the ‌iPad Pro‌, but you also won't be able to use the redesigned Magic Keyboard that Apple made for the ‌iPad Pro‌ because it isn't compatible with the ‌iPad Air‌. Apple is selling the older Magic Keyboard alongside the ‌iPad Air‌, and it lacks the aluminum frame and palm rest, function keys, and the larger glass trackpad. You can still use the Apple Pencil Pro and all of its features with the ‌iPad Air‌, though.

One of the nice features about the ‌iPad Air‌ compared to prior-generation models is the relocated front-facing camera, which is now on the landscape edge instead of the portrait edge. That means the camera is in an upright orientation when it's in landscape mode, such as when connected to a keyboard, so it no longer looks funny if you're FaceTiming while holding the ‌iPad‌ horizontally.

The ‌M2‌ ‌iPad Air‌ is essentially an ‌M2‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ without the higher-quality display, and it's a good middle tier option if you want solid performance for futureproofing but also don't want to spend $1,000+ on a tablet. For a lot of people who just want a tablet for browsing the web, sending emails, and other simple day-to-day tasks, the ‌iPad Air‌ may even be overkill.

Rivian today announced second-generation versions of the R1S SUV and R1T pickup, and the reengineered models include support for the Car Keys feature that's available on iPhones and Apple Watches.

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

A simple 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.

Prior Rivian vehicles supported unlocking through the Rivian app, but ‌Car Keys‌ is a different feature that is better integrated into the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch. While the Rivian app was able to sense a user approaching and unlock the car, it was slow to work and not as accurate or as simple as ‌Car Keys‌.

Rivian has added Ultra Wideband technology to its new vehicles for improved accuracy.

Use your phone or smartwatch to automatically lock or unlock doors when you're nearby. Accessing your vehicle is easier than ever -- thanks to ultrawideband technology enabled by the wallet feature on iOS and Android.

Rivian says that ‌Car Keys‌ feature can be used with the R1S and R1T for unlocking and starting their vehicles, plus sharing digital keys with family and friends.

Along with ‌Car Keys‌, the updated Rivian models also feature Connect+, a streaming service that provides access to over 3,000 apps, including music services. Rivian says that it worked with the Apple Music team to "deeply integrate" ‌Apple Music‌ into Rivian's Connect+ platform. Customers can access ‌Apple Music‌'s more than 100 million songs, and with Rivian Premium Audio, ‌Apple Music‌ Spatial Audio is supported.

More information on the upgraded vehicles can be found on Rivian's website.

Apple today revealed three new games coming to Apple Arcade on July 3, including town-building strategy game Outlanders 2: Second Nature, side-scrolling action game Punch Kick Duck+, and the calm and relaxing game Zen Koi Pro+. All games available on Apple Arcade are ad-free and do not offer in-app purchases.

More details about these games can be found on the Apple Newsroom, and the App Store descriptions for each title are pasted in part below.

Outlanders 2:

Welcome back to the Outlands! A new, courageous generation of outlanders is ready to redefine life on the Outlands, with new approaches to building and surviving, uncharted heights and horizons, and an ecosystem more vibrant than ever before.

Outlanders 2 is the latest installment of the charming town-builder that captivated players with its imaginative levels, easy-to-understand but hard-to-master gameplay, and offbeat humor.

Punch Kick Duck+:

Fighting is all about timing. Just ask any duck.

The right move + right time = swift victory.

All you need to do is PUNCH KICK DUCK!

The cruel Baron Tigrisso has imprisoned you in his tower. Fight hordes of the Baron's hench-critters as you battle up the tower to confront your captor.

Zen Koi Pro+:

Collect & nurture colorful koi fish as they grow & transform into dragons in this calming, offline game. Find your zen & unwind with enchanting music & beautiful visuals.

Accessible through the App Store, Apple Arcade is a subscription-based service that provides access to hundreds of games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Vision Pro, all free of ads and in-app purchases. The service received its first price increase last year, with U.S. pricing rising from $4.99 to $6.99 per month.

Ahead of WWDC next week, Apple has announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, honoring 14 best-in-class apps and games.

Here are this year's winners, with one app and one game chosen per category:

• Delight and Fun: Bears Gratitude (app) and NYT Games (game)
• Inclusivity: oko (app) and Crayola Adventures (game)
• Innovation: Procreate Dreams (app) and Lost in Play (game)
• Interaction: Crouton (app) and Rytmos (game)
• Social Impact: Gentler Streak (app) and The Wreck (game)
• Visuals and Graphics: Rooms (app) and Lies of P (game)
• Spatial Computing: djay Pro (app) and Blackbox (game)

Apple says this year's winning apps and games were selected based on "stellar design, technical achievement, and innovation." More details about each app and the developers behind them can be found on Apple's website.

In past years, Apple Design Award winners have been revealed at a presentation during WWDC, so Apple pre-announcing the list is a notable change.

WWDC begins with Apple's keynote on June 10 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company expected to unveil iOS 18 and other major software updates.

Today we're tracking a pair of deals on Amazon, which is discounting the M2 MacBook Air to multiple all-time low prices, as well as the Apple Studio Display. Both devices are in stock on Amazon with delivery estimates between June 8 and June 12 as of writing.

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.

Starting with the M2 13-inch MacBook Air, Amazon this week has every model available for $170 off, which are matches for the record low prices on this version of the MacBook Air. These prices are available to all shoppers and do not require a coupon code.

The 256GB model is on sale for $829.00 and the 512GB model is available for $1,029.00. These deals are only available on Amazon right now, and the retailer has each model on sale in all four colors.

Following the introduction of the M3 MacBook Air, Apple knocked the price of the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air down by $100, and it's still selling them alongside the M3 model. The main difference between the two generations lies in the performance upgrade that the M3 chip brings, so if your priority is saving money you stand to benefit from Amazon's steep discounts.

Secondly, Amazon has again dropped the price of the Apple Studio Display (Standard Glass) down to $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00. This is the model with the tilt-adjustable stand, although you can find the same deal on the VESA mount adapter model right now on Amazon.

The Apple Studio Display is a 27-inch monitor that features 5K resolution, supports up to 600 nits of brightness, P3 Wide color for vivid colors, and True Tone to match the white balance of the display to the lighting in the room. There is an upgraded nano-texture glass model, but we aren't tracking any deals on that one this week.

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.

Popular Mac menu bar management utility Bartender was recently quietly sold to another company, a fact that only came to light after app monitoring service MacUpdater alerted users that updates to the app from version 5.0.52 could be potentially unsafe due to the lack of transparency surrounding the situation.

The original developer has since acknowledged the sale. However, the new Bartender owner is a largely unknown entity that has reportedly hiked Bartender's purchase options, and is alleged to have added code to the app that may be associated with collecting analytics data on users.

Given that Bartender requires extensive permissions to operate in macOS, including screen recording, the whole event has understandably left many users concerned about privacy. Fortunately, Bartender is not the only app of its kind. So unless Apple ever gets round to integrating better menu bar management into macOS, here are some alternative menu bar utilities that are worth considering.

• Vanilla (Free) – Simple app that lets you hide menu bar icons. Just hold Command and drag icons between hidden and visible sections. Vanilla Pro ($10) adds keyboard shortcuts, a removed section, start at login, and an auto-hide option after 5 seconds.
  
• Ice (Free) – Menu bar management tool that hides items, offers an always-hidden section, show on hover, show on click, show on scroll or swipe, automatic rehide, and app menu overlap correction. Also includes hotkeys, launch at login, and options to change menu bar appearance.
• Hidden Bar (Free) – Lightweight tool that lets you drag a divider between icons in the menu bar to separate hidden and shown sections. Includes launch at login, auto-hide durations, show/hide global shortcut, and full menu bar mode.
• iBar (Free) – This tool hides menu bar icons which can be revealed in a floating bar that extends below the notch on MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
• Barbee ($3.99) – Management tool with similar interface to Bartender. Includes sections for shown, hidden, and always hidden items, as well as extensive menu bar appearance settings. Also offers ability to quickly search your menu bar items in a Spotlight-style floating window.
• OnlySwitch (Free) – More than just a menu bar management tool, OnlySwitch offers a broad range of customizable toggle switches designed to offer quick access to system and other settings, such as hide desktop icons, dark mode, hide MacBook notch, mute mic, and more.

If you are a BetterTouchTool user, Andreas Hegenberg has a thorough tutorial on how the utility can be used to hide menu bar items. Know of a great Mac menu bar management tool that we haven't highlighted? Let us know in the comments below and we might append it to this article.

Apple Mail in iOS 18 is set to receive substantial improvements powered by new AI capabilities, including more powerful search, generative "Smart Replies," and email composition assistance.

According to a new report from AppleInsider, results returned when performing a Mail search will be beefed up to include additional information from Contacts, locations, and locally stored documents.

Meanwhile, "Smart Replies" will rely on Apple's on-device large-language model (LLM), internally known as Ajax. Combined with Siri's deep integration with Mail and the virtual assistant's ability to create replies on the fly at the user's request, Smart Replies are being developed to streamline communication and save time.

Associated with the new Mail features is a new system-wide writing tools framework that could enable text editing via ‌Siri‌. The framework is apparently included in pre-release versions of ‌iOS 18‌, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15.

Although little is known about its implementation, the report claims that it could help change the style or tone of the user's text as they type an email or message. If a user wanted to sound less casual, for example, they could ask ‌Siri‌ to "Make this text more professional."

The report offers a number of other tidbits related to "Project BlackPearl" – Apple's codename for some cross-system AI and machine learning enhancements – including automatic email categorization based on content (e.g. time sensitivity), ability to summarize emails and email threads, as well as notification summaries based on topic.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has previously touched on many of the other rumored new AI features mentioned in the report that are coming to ‌iOS 18‌ and macOS 15. You can find more details about them in our previous coverage.