MacRumors

Microsoft this week announced Office 2024, a new standalone version of its productivity suite for both Mac and PC users. Available now, Office 2024 offers an alternative for those who prefer a one-time purchase over the subscription-based Microsoft 365.

The new release includes updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. These applications come as "locked-in-time" versions, meaning they won't receive ongoing feature updates like their Microsoft 365 counterparts.

For Mac users, Office 2024 brings several notable improvements, according to Microsoft. Excel now boasts faster performance, particularly when working with multiple open workbooks. Meanwhile, Outlook for Mac introduces customizable swipe gestures that are designed to enhance email management and work with Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse.

PowerPoint gains new features such as "cameo," which allows users to embed a live camera feed directly into slides, and "recording studio" for capturing narration, animations, transitions, and inking. Elsewhere, Word and PowerPoint now support liking and reacting to comments in collaborative documents.

Microsoft say Mac users will also benefit from an enhanced inking experience in OneNote, including a full-screen pen-focused view. Additionally, the suite now supports version 1.4 of the OpenDocument format (ODF) across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Office 2024 is compatible with macOS Ventura, macOS Sonoma, and macOS Sequoia. The suite of apps requires both a Microsoft account and an internet connection for installation and activation. Two editions are available: Office Home 2024, priced at $149.99, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Office Home & Business 2024, at $249.99, adds Outlook and includes commercial use rights. Both editions are available now from retailers worldwide and via the Microsoft website.

While Office 2024 provides a non-subscription option, Microsoft continues to position Microsoft 365 as the recommended choice for those seeking the latest features and regular updates. However, the standalone Office 2024 offers a familiar alternative for Mac users who prefer a traditional licensing model.

WhatsApp has announced it is rolling out new filters and backgrounds for users to personalize their video calls. The popular chat platform said the new effects are designed to make video conversations "more engaging" and give them a "more personal touch."

The update includes 10 filters and 10 backgrounds that users can apply to improve their video calling experience. Filters range from classic options like "Black & White" and "Vintage TV" to more artistic effects such as "Light leak" and "Prism light." Background choices offer variety, from practical settings like "Office" and "Cafe" to scenic options like "Beach" and "Sunset."

In addition to filters and backgrounds, WhatsApp is introducing "Touch up" and "Low Light" options. These features are aimed at enhancing the user's appearance and improving video quality in suboptimal lighting conditions, potentially avoiding embarrassment during calls.

To access these new effects, users can select the effects icons located in the top right corner of the screen during a video call. The functionality will be available for both one-on-one and group video calls. The new filters and backgrounds are expected to be available to all WhatsApp users in the coming weeks.

The introduction of new video call effects follows the rollout in August of a new event planning feature that lets WhatsApp users organize events, meetings, and social gatherings directly within a group chat.

Sonos today announced a series of new commitments that are meant to demonstrate the company's "renewed focus" on software quality and customer experience. The announcement and an accompanying video from Sonos CEO Patrick Spence come as Sonos tries to ameliorate the negative experience customers have had with the May Sonos app update.

Going forward, Sonos says that it isn't just going to fix its app mistake, but also build a better Sonos experience. To that end, Sonos made seven pledges:

• Unwavering focus on customer experience with ambitious quality benchmarks, and a promise to not launch products that don't meet the standards customers expect.
• More stringent pre-launch testing with a broader range of customers to resolve issues before new software comes out.
• No more all-at-once app releases. Any new major changes to the Sonos app will be released gradually, and customers will be able to opt-in to test new features before they become default.
• There will be a new Quality Ombudsperson role that will give employees a clear path to raise concerns regarding quality and customer experience.
• Home speaker products currently under warranty will have their warranty extended for an additional year.
• App updates will come every two to four weeks to "optimize and enhance" the app experience. This includes after the current issues are fixed.
• Sonos is establishing a Customer Advisory Board to provide feedback and insights from a customer perspective to shape and improve products before they launch.

Sonos says that its Executive Leadership Team will not accept any bonus payout for the October 2024 to September 2025 fiscal year unless Sonos is able to improve the quality of the app and rebuild customer trust.

According to Sonos, more than 80 percent of the missing features from the app have now been reintroduced, and the company expects to be at close to 100 percent in the coming weeks.

Recent reports have suggested that Sonos employees raised an alarm prior to when the redesigned Sonos app launched in May. The app was an immediate disappointment to customers because it was riddled with bugs and missing many key Sonos features, and there was significant outcry over the downgrade. Sonos was not able to roll back the changes, and has spent 2024 trying to fix the app.

Sonos has delayed new product launches to focus on software, and as a result, will miss its annual revenue target by $200 million.

Each year, the developers behind well-known iPhone camera app Halide take an in-depth look at the new camera technology that Apple has introduced. This year, Sebastiaan de With took more than 1,000 photos with the iPhone 16 Pro to examine changes to the camera setup, Apple's image processing, and more.

Apple added an upgraded 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera to the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ models this year. De With found it to take photos that have "impressive sharpness," but Apple did not add a larger sensor, so you're still not going to get the level of detail that you get with the Wide camera, which has a much bigger sensor.

For macro photos, the 48-megapixel lens "does wonders" for up-close shots. In prior iPhones, the Ultra Wide was cropping in from a 12-megapixel photo, which meant you ended up with an image that was approximately three megapixels. With the 48-megapixel lens, cropping in provides a true 12-megapixel image with more detail.

As for the Main camera, which Apple now calls the "Fusion" camera, it is using a sensor that is the same physical size as the iPhone 15 Pro sensor. While both the iPhone 16 and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ have a "Fusion" camera, the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ has a larger and higher quality sensor. As with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ combines pixels and can produce better 24-megapixel and 12-megapixel images using that data, in addition to full 48-megapixel photos. Processing is about the same as last year, and there is little difference between images captured with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro and the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ with the standard Wide camera.

There are some notable internal changes that speed up image capture. The Apple Camera Interface provides faster sensor readout times for improvements to QuickTake. QuickTake also supports 4K Dolby Vision HDR, which is a noticeable improvement, according to de With. Capturing 48-megapixel ProRAW images is also a lot faster with quicker shutter speeds, and there's little delay.

For those interested in more info on everything new with the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ related to photography, including Camera Control, the Telephoto lens, Night mode, and more, the full Halide review is well worth a read.

Facebook parent company Meta last week added new AI features to its camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta Glasses. You can use the camera feature on the glasses to get information about what's around you and to remember things like where you parked. There's also now support for video for AI purposes, for "continuous real-time help."

With all of these new features that involve the camera continually viewing what's around the wearer, there are new questions about what Meta is doing with that data. TechCrunch specifically asked Meta if it was using the images collected by the Meta Glasses to train AI models, and Meta declined to say.

"We're not publicly discussing that," Anuj Kumar told TechCrunch. Kumar is a senior director that works on AI wearables. "That's not something we typically share externally," another spokesperson said. When asked for clarification on whether images are being used to train AI, the spokesperson said "we're not saying either way."

TechCrunch doesn't come out and say it, but if the answer is not a clear and definitive "no," it's likely that Meta does indeed plan to use images captured by the Meta Glasses to train Meta AI. If that wasn't the case, it doesn't seem like there would be a reason for Meta to be ambiguous about answering, especially with all of the public commentary on the methods and data that companies use for training.

Meta does train its AI on publicly posted Instagram and Facebook images and stories, which it considers publicly available data. But data collected from the Meta Ray-Ban Glasses that's specifically for interacting with AI in private isn't the same as a publicly posted Instagram image, and it's concerning.

As TechCrunch notes, the new AI features for the Meta Glasses are going to be capturing a lot of passive images to feed to AI to answer questions about the wearer's surroundings. Asking the Meta Glasses for help picking an outfit, for example, will see dozens of images of the inside of the wearer's home captured, with those images uploaded to the cloud.

The Meta Glasses have always been used for images and video, but in an active way. You generally know when you're capturing a photo or video because it's for the express purpose of uploading to social media or saving a memory, as with any camera. With AI, though, you aren't keeping those images because they're being collected for the express purpose of interacting with the AI assistant.

Meta is definitively not confirming what happens to images from the Meta Glasses that are uploaded to its cloud servers for AI use, and that's something Meta Glasses owners should be aware of. Using these new AI features could result in Meta collecting hundreds of private photos that wearers had no intention or awareness of sharing.

If Meta is in fact not using the Meta Glasses this way, it should explicitly state that so customers can be aware of exactly what's being shared with Meta and what that is being used for.

Apple today released a new beta firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2, with the software available for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the ‌AirPods Pro‌. The firmware has a build number of 7B5013c, and as it is a beta, it is only available for developers at the current time.

It is not clear what's included in the firmware update at this time, but Apple is planning to introduce hearing aid and hearing test functionality for the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 sometime this year.

While the current firmware is limited to developers right now, it will be released for all ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 users in the future.

Adobe today unveiled new versions of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, the company's affordable photo and video editing software aimed at users who want to enhance their photos and videos with simple editing tools.

Photoshop Elements 2025 incorporates multiple new AI-powered tools to make editing quicker than ever. There's a new Remove tool that lets users select an area in the image to remove with a brush, plus it is accompanied by an Object Removal Guided Edit.

There's also an option to change the color of objects in an image by selecting them with the automatic selection tools and then choosing a new color.

A new Depth Blur filter adds blur to images to mimic a depth of field effect, with controls for adjusting blur strength, focal distance, and focal range. It's a useful way to change the focus of an image.

There is a Combine Photos Guided Edit that walks users through blending the subject from one image and the background from another to create an all-new image. It can use parts of multiple photos for unique looks.

Other new features include options for textured photo backgrounds and graphics and a one-click option for adding effects like camera motion, animated sparkles, or an animated frame.

Premiere Elements 2025 has several new features for videos. There's a new White Balance tool for adjusting the look of clouds, snow, and similar white elements, plus there are new color correction Curves for making more precise color and brightness adjustments.

There are additional templates for dynamic titles with more control over text alignment, size, color, and spacing. There are preset LUTs for tweaking color, and a simplified Timeline speeds up editing.

For both Photoshop and Premiere Elements, there are enhancements for Macs with the new M3 chip, so the software will run faster on new M3 machines.

Photoshop and Premiere Elements are priced at $100 each individually, with a bundle available for $150. More information is available on Adobe's website.

Microsoft is planning to discontinue its mixed reality HoloLens 2 headsets, according to a report from UploadVR. Production on the HoloLens 2 is ending, and sales will cease when stock runs out.

Security updates will be provided until December 31, 2027, but after that point, Microsoft plans to end software support for the HoloLens 2.

Microsoft was one of the first companies to delve into mixed reality technology, and it introduced the original HoloLens in 2016, following up with the HoloLens 2 in 2019. The HoloLens headsets have always been expensive and Microsoft has targeted them to enterprise customers rather than the general public.

At the current time, Microsoft does not appear to have plans for another HoloLens headset. There were rumors of a version three back in 2022, but work was reportedly canceled due to a lack of focus and internal hardware development challenges. Microsoft has also been downsizing its mixed reality team in 2023 and 2024.

Microsoft does apparently plan to continue supporting its HoloLens IVAS, which stands for integrated visual augmentation system. It is an AR headset that Microsoft is creating for the U.S. Army, and it is set to be tested in early 2025 to determine its feasibility for full-scale production.

As Microsoft has been winding down its work on the HoloLens, it has partnered with Meta to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming and its Office apps to the Quest headsets, and it is also working on Windows 11 integration with the Quest.

Apple's Vision Pro headset has been marketed to both consumers and enterprise customers unlike the HoloLens, but it currently shares some of the same shortcomings, such as a high price tag. Apple is not yet ready to abandon mixed reality, and there is another version of the Vision Pro in the works. A second AR/VR headset could come as soon as 2025.

Juno, an app designed for watching YouTube on the Vision Pro, has been removed from the App Store, developer Christian Selig said today. Back in April, YouTube emailed Selig and said that Juno was violating the YouTube Terms of Service and the YouTube API by modifying the native YouTube.com web user interface, and used YouTube trademarks and iconography that could be confusing to customers.

In response, Selig switched from using the embed player to the website player, made it clear that Juno was an unofficial YouTube viewer, and explained to YouTube that as a web viewer, Juno is not using YouTube APIs. At the same time, though, YouTube filed a complaint with the ‌App Store‌, and Selig went on to warn customers that he would not fight Google on any decision regarding Juno.

Juno has now been removed from the ‌App Store‌ by Apple in response to YouTube's complaint. Selig says that he does not agree with the decision because Juno is a simple web view and that that modifies CSS to make the player look more "visionOS like," but he does not plan to appeal the decision.

Selig, for those unaware, was the developer of the Reddit app Apollo, and he faced a public fight with Reddit over its third-party API changes and fees last year. The dispute ultimately ended up with Apollo shutting down. According to Selig, Juno was just a fun hobby project.

Juno was a fun hobby project for me to build. As a developer I wanted to get some experience building for the Vision Pro, and as a user I wanted a nice way to watch YouTube on this cool new device. As a result, I really enjoyed building Juno, but it was always something I saw as fundamentally a little app I built for fun.

YouTube does not have a dedicated app for the Vision Pro, which is why Selig designed and released Juno last February. Prior to when the Vision Pro launched, YouTube said that it would not develop a Vision Pro app, nor would it allow the YouTube iPad app to run on the headset. With Juno removed, those who want to watch YouTube on Vision Pro will need to use Safari.

Juno for YouTube was priced at $4.99, and Selig says that customers who purchased the app should still be able to use it even though it's been removed from the ‌App Store‌.

Home Depot today launched new Smart Glass Door options that are able to transform from clear glass to opaque glass with a smartphone app, providing versatility for customers who want to be able to block light or people from seeing inside a home at select times of the day.

The Smart Glass Doors are made by Feather River Doors and are powered through Hubspace, a smart home app that integrates with several products sold by Home Depot, including light bulbs, ceiling fans, blinds, outlets, and locks.

The Smart Glass Doors can be controlled with an app that's available on the iPhone, but there is no HomeKit integration or support for Siri, which is a major downside for people who have a ‌HomeKit‌ setup. There is, however, support for Alexa and Google voice control.

When activated, the glass in the door is able to change from clear to privacy, which is a more opaque look. The glass is laminated for energy efficiency, and the door itself is made from fiberglass filled with high density polyurethane foam. It is unpainted, so it can be painted to match a home.

There are several models with different amounts of glass, with pricing that starts at $800. The doors will be available in select Home Depot stores starting on October 28.

Apple will hold a new "Mindful Month" Apple Watch Activity Challenge that is set to take place on October 10. It is meant to bring awareness to caring for mental health.

Let's bring awareness to all the ways we can take care of our mental health. On October 10, record 10 mindful minutes with any app that adds to Health to get this award.

Like all Activity Challenges, the Mindful Month event will come with animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Mindful Month appears to be a new addition to the Apple Watch Activity Challenge lineup. Apple's last Activity Challenge took place in August for National Park Day.

Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini models with the M4 series of chips "this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Gurman initially said these Macs would likely be announced during a virtual event this October, but he has been more vague about the timing lately, with wording such as "in the coming weeks" and now merely "this year." In any case, it is clear that he expects the first Macs with M4 chips to be introduced before the calendar turns to 2025.

Apple last updated the MacBook Pro and iMac lines during a virtual event on October 30 last year, while the Mac mini was last updated in January last year.

Notably, the M4 chip already exists in the latest iPad Pro models, which launched in May. Geekbench 6 benchmark results showed the M4 chip offers up to 25% faster multi-core CPU performance compared to the M3 chip found in several current Macs. The M4 chip is available with up to a 10-core CPU, whereas the M3 chip has an 8-core CPU. Apple has yet to announce higher-end M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

Below, we reiterate what has been rumored for these first M4 Macs.

MacBook Pro

Apple plans to announce updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips in the coming weeks, according to Gurman. No design changes have been rumored for the laptops this year, with improvements such as an OLED display and thinner design not expected until 2026 at the earliest.

Apple last redesigned the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2021, and the latest models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips were released last October.

iMac

Apple also plans to update the iMac with the M4 chip in the coming weeks, according to Gurman. No design changes are expected for the desktop computer.

An unanswered question: Will the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories for the iMac finally switch from Lightning to USB-C this year?

Mac mini

Gurman expects the Mac mini to be updated with M4 and M4 Pro chips in the coming weeks, and he said the desktop computer will be redesigned to become nearly as small as an Apple TV. The new Mac mini will apparently lack USB-A ports, and instead feature five USB-C ports, including two on the front of the computer.

This would be the Mac mini's first major redesign since 2010.

Apple plans to release a new iPhone SE with Apple Intelligence support, new iPad Air models, and an updated Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air at some point "early next year," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The next iPhone SE will have a similar design as the iPhone 14, including an edge-to-edge screen with a notch, according to Gurman. This means the device will likely support Face ID, whereas the current iPhone SE has a Touch ID button. As mentioned, he also expects the device to support Apple Intelligence, which is currently available on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and any of the new iPhone 16 models.

The new iPad Air models will apparently have "internal improvements," but Gurman did not provide any specific details. He also expects an updated version of the Magic Keyboard for both the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air, with some of the new features previously introduced on the latest iPad Pro version of the keyboard.

March and April are common months for Apple to announce new iPhone SE and iPad Air models, with a virtual event or press releases both possibilities.

Apple last updated the iPhone SE in March 2022, while the iPad Air lineup was last updated in May this year with the M2 chip and a first-ever 13-inch model.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming visionOS 2.1 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming a week after Apple seeded the second visionOS 2.1 beta.

Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app on their device, going to the Software Update Section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

There's no word yet on what's included in visionOS 2.1, but there are visionOS 2 features that Apple has not yet released, such as the option to use a larger ultrawide screen for the Mac Virtual Display and support for Multiview for MLS and MLB games.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 11.1 update to developers for testing purposes. The third beta comes a week after Apple released the second watchOS 11.1 beta.

To install the ‌‌watchOS 11‌.1 update, developers need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the ‌‌watchOS 11‌‌ Developer Beta. An Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, ‌‌watchOS 11‌‌.1 can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

It's not yet clear what new features are included in the watchOS 11.1 update at this time, as the update primarily focuses on Apple Intelligence, and Apple Intelligence features are not available on watchOS.

Update: Apple has temporarily pulled the third beta of watchOS 11.1.

Popular camera app Halide was today updated with new features for the Camera Control button available on the new iPhone 16 models. Halide already supported opening the app with Camera Control, but now users can also make adjustments.

Using the Camera Control's touch and swipe-based gesture support, Halide users can adjust focus and exposure, and lock their settings in place. The dedicated "Locked" adjustment makes sure that no settings can be disturbed from accidental swipes on the Camera Control button, and it is designed for people who do not want to use manual adjustments.

The Exposure setting allows users to set an exposure bias that exceeds what's possible with Apple's Camera app (-/+ 6 EV vs. 2), and Focus allows for manual focusing on a subject or scene using the Camera Control button. Halide says that Focus provides a smooth manual focus experience with the iPhone.

In addition to these changes, Halide has added a quicker way to capture a photo. Halide takes the photo when the Camera Control button is pressed, while the Camera app from Apple takes the image when the button is released. The difference is minor, but fractions of a second can sometimes make a difference.

Halide says that the quick snap feature works well with the 48-megapixel ProRAW Zero Shutter Lag feature in the app, as well as with Process Zero, an option that Halide added to take 12-megapixel images with no AI and minimal processing.

Halide can be downloaded from the App Store. The app is priced at $2.99 per month, $19.99 per year, or $59.99 for a one-time purchase. [Direct Link]

Over the past year and a half or so, some owners of the 24-inch iMac with the M1 chip have encountered horizontal lines abruptly appearing on the computer's screen. There are complaints about this issue across the Apple Support Community, MacRumors Forums, Reddit, iFixit Answers, and several other websites, but it is unclear how many customers are affected in total, or what the underlying cause of the problem is.

The lines continue to appear on the screen even after the iMac is restarted, and no other solutions have been identified, according to the complaints.

Many affected users said the lines began appearing on the screen around 18 to 24 months after they purchased the iMac. As a result, the affected iMac units are often no longer covered by Apple's standard one-year warranty at the time the issue begins, unless the customer purchased extended AppleCare+ coverage. Some customers who contacted Apple about the issue said the company offered them an exemption, resulting in their iMac being repaired for free, but other customers said they had to pay for service.

One symptom commonly mentioned is the top-right corner of the iMac becoming hot to the touch after the issue begins, but there is no confirmed cause.

Given that these complaints have been continuously popping up for nearly two years now, there may be a hardware issue with this particular iMac model, which launched in May 2021. We have not seen widespread complaints about this issue affecting the iMac with the M3 chip, although that model was released less than a year ago.

Apple offers service programs for some hardware issues, but it is unclear if it will ever launch one for this iMac issue. We have reached out to Apple for comment on this matter, and we will update this story if we receive a response.