Apple's Find My feature, photos, and some iCloud services are experiencing service interruptions at the current time, so if you've run into problems, it's because of network issues.
According to Apple's System Status page, there is a Find My outage that is causing the service to be slow or unavailable for some users.
There are also issues with iCloud Account and Sign In, iCloud Calendar, iCloud Contacts, iCloud Mail, iCloud Web Apps, and Photos. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with these services, though not everyone is affected.
Find My has been down since 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, while the other services have been having problems since 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll update this article when the outages have resolved.
Update: Apple says all of the issues were resolved between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Meta today announced several new AI features for popular social network Facebook. The capabilities will be available for profile pictures, photos, posts, stories, and more.
Meta AI's image editing tools can be used to animate a profile picture, adding motion to a still image. Meta says there are several preset animations like confetti, headphones, wave, and heart to choose from, with more to be added throughout the year. There does not appear to be an option for creating custom animations.
Text-based AI prompts can be used for creating images for Facebook Stories and Memories. After uploading a photo to Stories or viewing a memory to share, the Meta AI-powered Restyle option can be used to describe changes that you want to make to the image. Meta will also offer presets with different style options, moods, lighting, colors, and backdrops.
Finally, Facebook is getting an option for adding an animated backdrop to Feed text posts to make them "more fun and expressive." When creating a text post on Facebook, tapping on the rainbow-colored "A" icon will provide multiple still and animated backgrounds to choose from. Meta plans to introduce seasonal backgrounds in the future to make posts feel "timely, festive, and a little more fun."
Meta has been heavily pushing its AI products in Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Conversations with Meta's generative AI are used for ad targeting and personalization purposes, with no way to opt out. Meta AI is also used for several image editing and generation features in Facebook and Instagram, plus Meta has adopted it for search across Meta apps.
To recognize Heart Month, Apple is launching a new February Apple Watch activity challenge. Apple Watch owners can earn a special award by completing a workout to fill their Exercise ring on Saturday, February 14, which is Valentine's Day.
Close your exercise ring on Valentine's Day, February 14, to earn this award. Your heart will love you for it.
Like all Apple Watch Activity Challenges, the Heart Month challenge will be accompanied by an award that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.
Apple often also debuts themed Heart Month content in the App Store, Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books during the month of February.
Apple is aiming for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same starting prices as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to Jeff Pu, an equity analyst with investment firm GF Securities.
In a research note today, obtained by MacRumors, Pu said his firm's recent "supply chain research" indicates that Apple is focused on "cost management," in an attempt to keep the starting prices of the iPhone 18 Pro models either "unchanged" or at a "similar level" compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.
In the U.S., the iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199.
For example, Pu believes that Apple has been negotiating with Samsung and SK Hynix to achieve relatively "favorable" memory chip deals, amid skyrocketing prices for DRAM and NAND storage. He also expects Apple to find ways to lower the costs of some other core iPhone components, including the display and cameras.
Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, also said that Apple's plan for the iPhone 18 Pro models was to "avoid raising prices as much as possible." He predicted that Apple would at least keep starting prices "flat" compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.
Thanks to Apple's Sound Recognition feature, the HomePod mini and second-generation HomePod can send you notifications when they recognize smoke or carbon monoxide alarm sounds. Keep reading to learn how it works.
With Sound Recognition, HomePod can detect the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm in your home, and alert you by sending a notification to your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.
It's a neat addition if you don't own a smart detector, although Apple warns that the feature should not be relied upon "in circumstances where users may be harmed or injured," or in "high-risk or emergency situations."
The Sound Recognition feature is accessible in the Home app. If your Home system is connected to a smart camera, it will also display live video of your home, so you can see what's happening in real time.
Here's how to enable the feature. Note that Sound Recognition on HomePods requires Apple's updated Home app architecture that was introduced in 2022 as part of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.
In the Home app, tap the ellipsis button (three dots) in the top-right corner of the screen.
Tap Home Settings.
Tap Safety & Security ➝ Sound Recognition.
Under "Sounds," make sure the Smoke & CO Alarm toggle is in the green ON position.
Toggle on the switches next to the HomePod devices that you want to enable Sound Recognition for.
That's all there is to it. Note that you can also access the Sound Recognition menu via the Home app's menu cards for individual HomePods.
Sound Recognition was first introduced on the iPhone in 2020 and can detect a wide variety of sounds on that device, including a doorbell, running water, a baby crying, a car horn, a door knock, a cat meowing or dog barking, and more.
Pocket Love!+: A wholesome life simulator where players decorate a home and build a cozy life with their partner and pet.
Flow Free+: A puzzle game centered on connecting matching colors with pipes to complete increasingly complex grids.
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story+: A shop management game starring manga character Doraemon where players run and grow a sweetshop.
All of the new games will be available on March 5, 2026. Three games are also set to receive updates this month:
Disney SpellStruck: A Star Wars crossover arriving February 19 adds levels inspired by Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and introduces Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca as playable characters.
Crayola Create and Play+: A limited-time Snowy Day event featuring Paddington is available on Apple Arcade until February 18.
NFL Retro Bowl 26: A new challenge lets players relive Super Bowl LX by competing as the Seattle Seahawks or New England Patriots and comparing leaderboard scores with friends.
Apple Arcade is a subscription service that provides access to hundreds of games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. All of the games are free of ads and in-app purchases. In the U.S., Apple Arcade costs $6.99 per month, and it is also bundled with other Apple services in all Apple One plans. Apple Arcade can be accessed through the App Store and the Apple Games app.
Electric automaker Rivian is preparing to launch a dedicated Apple Watch app that will allow owners to access and control their vehicles directly from their wrist.
Rivian is planning to release a companion Apple Watch app as part of its upcoming 2026.03 software update, according to release notes posted by RivianTrackr. The update is tied to version 3.9 of the Rivian mobile app, which has not yet been released on the App Store.
The release notes say that the update will allow owners to remotely access and control their vehicles from the Apple Watch, including locking and unlocking doors, venting windows, and sounding the alarm. Users can use the Digital Crown to set a target state of charge or adjust the cabin temperature. The app's customizable design allows users to choose up to four quick controls for instant access to their most-used features.
The addition of the Apple Watch app effectively extends wrist-based vehicle access to older Rivian vehicles that cannot use Apple's built-in Wallet-based digital key independently. Rivian began supporting Apple Wallet-based digital Car Keys in December, allowing owners of newer vehicles to use iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and start their vehicles without a physical key, but support is limited to second-generation Rivian models beginning with the 2025 model year.
Rivian's first-generation vehicles, produced from 2021 to 2024, will gain Apple Watch digital key functionality through the new app for the first time. The app will need to be open for functionality to work on these older vehicles. For those newer vehicles, the digital key can function without requiring the Apple Watch app to be launched via a Car Key in the wallet.
Amazon this week is taking $30 off the Apple Watch SE 3, starting at $219.00 for the 40mm GPS model. These are second-best prices on the SE 3, but it's been over a month since we last tracked record low prices, so this is a good opportunity for anyone who's been waiting for a deal.
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You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 on sale for $249.00, down from $279.00. Both the 40mm and 44mm GPS models are available in Midnight and Starlight Aluminum at these prices.
In addition to the Apple Watch SE 3 discounts, Amazon has $100 off the Apple Watch Series 11 right now, which are record low prices on the wearables. 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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It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.
Apple is expected to release/update the following products in the first half of 2026:
Both the Apple TV and the HomePod mini were rumored to be updated in 2025, but neither were, so hopefully they will finally arrive in the first half of 2026.
Here is what is rumored for those devices:
Apple TV:A17 Pro chip with support for the more personalized Siri, and Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. A built-in FaceTime camera has been rumored for a future Apple TV, but it is unclear if that will arrive with the next model.
HomePod mini:S9 chip or newer with support for the more personalized Siri, Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, improved sound quality, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, and potentially a new red color option.
In an email last week, Apple gave customers a final reminder to upgrade their Home app by February 10, 2026. Apple says users who do not upgrade may experience issues with accessories and automations, or lose access to their smart home in the app entirely. In addition, users who do not upgrade will miss out on newer features like robot vacuum cleaner support, and they will not receive important security fixes and performance improvements.
DuckDuckGo has announced new voice chat capabilities for Duck.ai, the private AI chatbot platform it launched last March.
The new feature lets users have real-time voice conversations with large language models (LLMs) through an encrypted relay connection. OpenAI provides the LLMs that power voice chats, but DuckDuckGo says that neither it nor OpenAI stores any audio after conversations end.
"Voice chats in Duck.ai are private, anonymized by us, and never used to train the underlying AI," the company said in its announcement. OpenAI is also contractually limited in how it can use voice chat data. Here's how DuckDuckGo describes the service:
DuckDuckGo protects your audio stream and voice data in several ways, to ensure it can only be accessed by OpenAI, (the model provider for voice chats) and only for the purpose of responding to your prompts:
Ephemeral processing: Your live audio is streamed only while you're speaking. Once the session ends, neither DuckDuckGo nor OpenAI keeps recordings of your voice.
No training: Your audio and the model's responses are not used to train AI models.
Secure connection: Audio streams are encrypted in transit through WebRTC and our relay server.
Zero data retention: Neither DuckDuckGo nor OpenAI retains any conversation data after you end a voice chat.
The feature works in most browsers except for Firefox, for which support is still in the works, according to the company. Voice chat is free within daily limits and doesn't require an account, while subscribers ($10/month) get higher daily limits in addition to DuckDuckGo VPN access, Personal Information Removal, and Identity Theft Restoration.
Users can disable voice chat at any time through Duck.ai's settings if they change their mind about using the feature. Duck.ai also offers access to non-voice models from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Mistral.
Apple and Google have agreed to a series of changes aimed at making their app stores fairer for developers, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today.
The concrete commitments come after the CMA found the two companies had a duopoly and designated them as having "strategic market status" in mobile platforms last October. The designation is not a finding of wrongdoing, but gives UK regulators new powers to demand specific changes to boost competition in the mobile market.
Under the agreed terms published by the CMA, both companies will ensure apps are reviewed and ranked on their app stores in a "fair, objective and transparent way," without discrimination against apps that compete with their own services. They also commit to safeguarding developer data collected during the app review process.
There are also requirements of Apple around the issue of interoperability. Apple must allow developers to more easily request access to iOS features and functionality, which could clear the way for third-party apps to better compete with Apple's own services.
"The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers," Apple said in a statement given to Bloomberg.
The changes are set to take effect on April 1, pending a public consultation period that runs through March 3.
The CMA says it will closely monitor implementation and won't hesitate to impose formal requirements if the companies fail to follow through. Further measures are expected in the coming months that could include potential changes to how Apple's digital Wallet app operates.
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.
OpenAI's first Jony Ive-designed hardware device won't ship to customers until next year, new court filings show (via Wired).
The motion stems from a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last year by audio device startup iyO. The company sued OpenAI after the latter acquired io, a startup founded by Apple's former design chief.
OpenAI's original stated goal was to ship the ChatGPT-powered device before the end of 2026. But in the latest filing, the company said its first hardware device won't ship to customers before the end of February 2027. OpenAI has not created any packaging or marketing materials for its first hardware device either, according to the documents.
The filing also said that OpenAI had reviewed its product-naming strategy and "decided not to use the name 'io' (or 'IYO,' or any capitalization of either) in connection with the naming, advertising, marketing, or sale of any artificial intelligence-enabled hardware products."
Few details are known about the first AI consumer product that OpenAI is working on. The gadget – pitched as a "third core device" that would sit in your pocket, or on your desk alongside a MacBook Pro and iPhone – apparently won't be an in-ear device or a wearable, based on previous filings related to this lawsuit.
Previous leaks have revealed that the gadget will be pocket-sized, contextually aware of your surroundings and life, and completely screen-free. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apparently told OpenAI staff it's "the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen" after testing Ive's prototype at home.
The development comes as now-debunked rumors circulated on Reddit over the weekend claiming that OpenAI had pulled a Super Bowl ad unveiling its upcoming device. The now-deleted post shared an alleged ad featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård in silver headphones, tapping a reflective puck. The video was widely circulated on social media, including by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have been runaway hits in China, but their success has little to do with new AI or camera features – it's largely down to the color. Or at least, that's according to a new report.
The Cosmic Orange finish made available exclusively on Apple's high-end Pro models has been widely dubbed "Hermès orange" by Chinese consumers who associate the vivid hue with the French luxury brand's signature color.
The Financial Times reports that videos showcasing the orange iPhones have gone viral on Chinese social media since the devices launched in September.
"It sounds simple, but it's the external obvious changes to design, which includes the introduction of a shout-out orange colour, that pulled out early upgraders," IDC senior research director Nabila Popal told the publication.
It's not just visual appeal that's driving sales either. In Mandarin, the word for orange sounds similar to the word for success, adding another psychological association that has apparently resonated with buyers. Many social media posts about Apple's premium iPhones include well-wishes playing on the linguistic connection.
Apple reported $26 billion in Chinese revenue during its fiscal first quarter, a 38 percent year-over-year increase and the company's best-ever performance in the region. China now accounts for roughly one-fifth of Apple's total global sales.
The results are a major turnaround after nearly three years of declining sales in the country, where Apple has faced stiff competition from domestic rivals like Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo.
For the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, expected to launch this September alongside the company's first foldable device, Apple will almost certainly introduce a new signature color. Rumors suggest that Apple is considering a brown coffee-like shade, purple, and burgundy.
YouTube is splitting YouTube TV into a selection of tailored YouTube TV Plans, allowing subscribers to pay less for a smaller selection of channels. "TV should be easy," reads the blog post announcing the change.
There are 10+ new plans across Sports, News, Entertainment, and Family, at prices that are $11 to $28 below the $82.99 per month cost for a full YouTube TV subscription. New subscribers will have access to lower prices for the first three months to a year, and a 10-day trial is available. Existing subscribers can downgrade to one of the more affordable plans.
Sports Plan - $64.99 per month, or $54.99 per month for new subscribers (1-year discount). Includes all major broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) plus sports networks like FS1, NBC Sports Network, all ESPN networks, and ESPN Unlimited.
Sports + News Plan - $71.99 per month, or $56.99 per month for new subscribers (3-month discount). Includes everything in the Sports Plan, plus networks like CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, CSPAN, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.
Entertainment Plan - $54.99 per month, or $44.99 per month for new subscribers (3-month discount). Includes all major broadcasters and content, from FX dramas to Hallmark classics. Comedy Central, Bravo, Paramount, Food Network, HGTV, and more are available.
News + Entertainment + Family Plan - $69.99 per month, or $59.99 per month for new subscribers (3-month discount). Includes news and entertainment channels along with family content like the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, Cartoon Network, and PBS Kids.
The new YouTube TV plans will have the perks of YouTube TV, such as unlimited DVR, and the option to share content with six members on one account. Add-ons like NFL Sunday Ticket, HBO Max, and 4K Plus can also be purchased. Plans are rolling out starting this week.
YouTube TV first launched in April 2017, and it was initially priced at $35 per month. It has more than doubled in price over the course of the last nine years. The last price increase came in December 2024, when YouTube raised the price from $72.99 per month to $82.99 per month.
YouTube TV is available across a wide range of devices, including the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad.
It is not yet clear if Apple made any changes that will be visible to customers. In some cases, Apple only updates a store's fixtures or back-of-house area, resulting in no visible differences to customers when business resumes.
Apple first opened up shop on London's world-famous Regent Street in 2004. The store was already remodeled in 2016.
U.S. ChatGPT users who have a free account or a low-cost Go subscription will start seeing ads starting today, according to OpenAI.
Ads will be limited to the Free and Go subscription tiers, and will be shown to logged-in adult users. OpenAI does not plan to show ads to minors, and the company claims that ads will not influence the answers that ChatGPT provides. OpenAI also says it will not provide advertisers with content from ChatGPT conversations.
OpenAI is not profitable, and the free and Go tier options require "significant infrastructure and ongoing investment." OpenAI is funding that work through ads, and it says that customers who do not want to see ads can upgrade to a Plus or Pro plan. There's also an option to opt out of ads in exchange for fewer daily free messages.
Ads in ChatGPT will be clearly labeled as sponsored and the information will be presented separately from answers that ChatGPT provides. By default, OpenAI will show ads based on conversation topic, past chats, and past interactions with ads. A conversation about recipes, for example, may surface ads for meal kits or grocery delivery.
Advertisers will receive aggregate information like number of views or clicks, but won't have access to chat history, memories, or personal user information. Ads will not be shown for sensitive topics like health, mental health, or politics.
OpenAI is allowing users to dismiss ads, share feedback, and get information on why a particular ad is displayed. Ad data is also able to be deleted, and personalization can be disabled.
ChatGPT subscribers with Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans will not see ads. OpenAI says the current rollout is a test to learn, listen, and get the ad experience right, and the company claims that it believes ads in ChatGPT can be "uniquely valuable for people."
Last week, OpenAI competitor Anthropic promised to keep the Claude chatbot ad-free in response to OpenAI's plan to introduce ads. Anthropic shared an anti-ad commercial during the Super Bowl calling out OpenAI for its ad plans, and said that a "conversation with Claude" is not the right place for ads.
Sometimes when you share a webpage link with someone, you just want to bring their attention to a specific passage or sentence to make your point, rather than have them read through the entire article.
In 2020, Google added a function to its Chrome browser called Scroll to Text Fragment (STTF) that helps you achieve this. It allows URLs to link directly to any visible text on a page. You may have seen it work in Google Search, where clicking on a link in your returned results takes you to a highlighted passage of text further down the page.
Google later added the feature to the Chromium codebase, so most other popular Chromium browsers like Edge, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi also support it. Here's how it works.
Copy Link With Highlight in Safari
Apple added full support for text fragment links in Safari 18, and the feature is available in Safari on macOS Sequoia and later. To use the feature, visit a web page and simply highlight the text you want to create a link to, then right-click (Ctrl-click) and choose Copy Link with Highlight from the dropdown menu.
The "Copy Link to Highlight" option
This will generate a special URL that includes a hash (#) symbol and "text" element, followed by a few words that bookend the selected text. All you need to do is share the link with someone, and when they click it they will be sent directly to that part of the webpage with the specific passage highlighted, as shown below.
The shared link as the recipient sees it
That's all there is to it. The Copy Link to Highlight option is also available in Safari on iPhone and iPad, though we have found it to be buggy and inconsistent in iOS 26.3. Hopefully Apple can fix it soon. At least on Mac, it makes it easier for you to direct the recipient of the link to the content you actually want them to focus on.
Bear in mind that the look of highlighted text can differ depending on whether the page author has styled it to look a certain way. Also, text fragment linking does not work in PDFs. Since July 2025, Copy Link to Highlight has also been introduced in Firefox.
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