Exact timing for the debut of the fourth-generation iPhone SE remains up in the air, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reporting in a tweet tonight that the device "should be announced by next week." Last week, Gurman indicated that it could arrive as early as this week and later claimed that it would be arriving this week, but there once again appears to be some uncertainty about the timing.

iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3
Interestingly, Gurman now says that Apple has a few other imminent announcements up its sleeve, including a "smaller announcement" planned for tomorrow. Apple's PR representatives for Vision Pro are also "reaching out to press about an announcement to come."

New iPhone SE is still imminent and should be announced by next week, when the company is holding product briefings. Tomorrow there's a smaller announcement. For Friday, Apple Vision Pro reps are reaching out to press about an announcement to come. M4 MacBook Air within weeks.

The M4 MacBook Air is expected to be introduced "within weeks," according to Gurman, though timing remains unclear as a launch has been thought to be imminent for a while now and was originally rumored to be planned as Apple's first hardware launch of the year.

M3 iPad Air and iPad 11 introductions are also expected within the next few months.

If you have two Apple Accounts with multiple digital purchases between them, Apple now has a way for you to consolidate the accounts by migrating content from one account to another.

iOS App Store General Feature Sqaure Complement
As noted by Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels, Apple today published a support document that provides instructions for moving purchases from a secondary Apple Account to a primary Apple Account.

Apps, music, books, TV shows, and movies that have been purchased on a secondary account can be migrated to a main account, which is useful for people who have separate accounts for iCloud and for making media purchases.

Apple says that to migrate purchases, the primary email address, phone number, password for both accounts is required, neither account should be shared, and two-factor authentication must be turned on. When the migration takes place, the Apple Account that's signed in for use with ‌iCloud‌ will be the primary Apple Account, and the Apple Account signed in for Media and Purchases will be the secondary Apple Account.

To go through the process, you'll need to sign in with two different accounts on an iPhone or iPad, one for ‌iCloud‌ and one for purchases. There are several steps to go through, such as making sure that both accounts are set to the same country, and ensuring the secondary account does not have a remaining balance.

If you're interested in merging accounts, you should go through the checklist that Apple has outlined, and read through Apple's info on what happens during an account migration and how to undo it.

The actual merging process can be done by opening up the Settings app, going to Media and Purchases, tapping View Account, and then choosing the Migrate Purchases option. After migration, the secondary account can no longer be used for purchases, and you will need to sign in with the primary account on all Apple devices.

When combining accounts, all payment methods associated with the secondary account will migrate to the primary Apple Account, and subscriptions will also transfer over. The secondary account's Up Next queue in Apple TV will also migrate over and replace content from the primary account, as will any podcast library data.

Migrating Apple Account purchases is not available in the European Union, United Kingdom, or India at the current time.

ColorWare today launched a new line of custom-painted AirPods, offering the AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods 4 in various shades of brown. The new shades are meant to be neutral, standing out less than white AirPods when the earbuds are in the ears.

colorware blended 1
There are three colors available for each product, including a light, cream colored "Glaze" shade, a mid-toned brown called "Toasty," and "Java," a darker brown color. The colors are reminiscent of the neutral color options Apple has introduced for its Beats line in partnership with Kim Kardashian.

ColorWare is known for custom painting Apple devices, and has been making electronics in custom colors for more than a decade. The company offers tons of other colors for the AirPods, employing a proprietary painting method that ensures longevity for the added paint.

colorware blended 2
Custom AirPods come with a premium price. The Blended ‌AirPods Max‌ are $849, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 are $439, and the ‌AirPods 4‌ are $329 for the standard version and $379 for the ANC model. Other than the custom color, the AirPods are unchanged so performance and feature set remains the same as standard AirPods from Apple.

colorware mac mini
ColorWare also recently came out with custom "Mac mini Retro" colors, featuring a rainbow Apple logo. The light version is the same cream color that Apple used for classic Macs, while the black version is a classic, matte black. Pricing starts at $899.

Apple is in the process of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and changes are already being made to the Apple Maps app. When searching in the Maps app for Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico name is shown or the name is blank, but tapping into the area shows the "Gulf of America" wording.

apple maps gulf of america
According to Bloomberg, Apple is rolling out the Maps change in the United States today, so the name should shift for most U.S. users in the near future. Apple plans to change the name for all users globally in the future.

Google this week also made good on its promise to adopt the new naming, and "Gulf of America" is now visible in both Google Maps and Waze.

Google and Apple use data from the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) when naming world locations, and GNIS updated its database with the "Gulf of America" name change this week.

Google has explained that Maps users in the United States will see "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico," while users in Mexico will continue to see Gulf of Mexico. In the rest of the world, the name for the body of water between Mexico and Florida will continue to be named Gulf of Mexico, but Gulf of America is shown in parentheses below. Apple might adopt similar changes outside of the United States.

When U.S. President Donald Trump took office on January 20, one of his first orders was changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Other countries do not refer to the area as the Gulf of America and are not required to accept the U.S. name.

Trump also said that Alaskan mountain Denali was being renamed to Mt. McKinley, but Google Maps and ‌Apple Maps‌ have not yet made that change.

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.

Apple's upcoming Powerbeats Pro 2 will have a day one firmware update available, as Apple has just released new software for the earbuds. The Powerbeats Pro 2 will ship with 7B15 firmware, and the new firmware has a 7B24 version number.

powerbeats pro 2 2
There's no word on what's included in the new firmware, but the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 have heart rate monitoring functionality that's never before been included in Apple earbuds. The ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 have built-in optical LED sensors that measure heart rate through blood flow in the ears.

Along with heart rate monitoring, the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 include Active Noise Cancellation, Personalized Spatial Audio, Apple's H2 chip for connectivity, and improved sound thanks to a redesigned acoustic architecture.

As for design, the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 have an earhook that's 50 percent smaller than the earhook from the original Powerbeats, more ear tip sizes, 20 percent lighter weight, and a slimmed down case with better battery life.

The updated firmware can be installed on the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 by connecting them to power and ensuring that they are in Bluetooth range of an iPhone, iPad, or Mac that's connected to Wi-Fi. Firmware can be checked on the ‌iPhone‌ by going to Settings > Bluetooth and tapping the Info button next to the Beats headphones in the list. Android users can download new Beats firmware through the Beats app for Android.

The ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 can be ordered from Apple's website starting today, and they are set to launch on Thursday, February 13. Apple is selling the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 for $250.

Best Buy's Presidents' Day sale kicked off yesterday, and we've already covered all of the iPad discounts you can find during the event. Today, we're focusing on MacBook Air deals, including a new all-time low price on the M2 model.

MacBook Air 15 Inch Feature BlueNote: 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.

You can get the 16GB RAM/256GB 13-inch M2 MacBook Air for $749.00 if you're a My Best Buy Plus/Total member, down from $999.00. Everyone else can purchase the computer at the typical $799.00 discount price, and you can find that price matched at Amazon.

Note: My Best Buy Plus/Total members only.

In regards to the M3 MacBook Air, prices start at $899.00 for the M3 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB SSD, down from $1,099.00, and also include both 512GB models at both Amazon and Best Buy. If you're shopping for the bigger MacBook Air, prices start at $1,099.00 for the M3 15-inch MacBook Air with 256GB SSD, down from $1,299.00, and reach up to $200 off for both 512GB models.


M3 13-inch MacBook Air

M3 15-inch MacBook Air

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.


Deals Newsletter

Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Pixelmator last year announced that it was being acquired by Apple, and today the company confirmed that the acquisition has been completed after Apple received regulatory approval. The Pixelmator for iOS, Pixelmator Pro, and Photomator apps were today updated with a new splash screen announcing the deal.

pixelmator pro apple acquisition complete
Pixelmator is a well-known image and photo editing app that competes with Photoshop and other Adobe image editing tools, while focusing on ease of use and performance. The apps are exclusive to Apple's platforms.

No changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, or Photomator apps have been made at this time. Apple could eventually integrate these apps into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, but for now they remain separate and available from the App Store.

Apple has photo editing tools available in the Photos app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but the company used to maintain a separate photo editing app called Aperture. Aperture was discontinued in 2015, and the app was removed from the Mac App Store at that time.

Apple's supply chain is gearing up for the upcoming launch of new iPad Air, MacBook Air, and entry-level iPad models, according to DigiTimes.

ipad air gradient
Apple's supply chain began shipments of the new devices in December, according to the report. The new iPad Air, MacBook Air, and entry-level iPad models are "coming soon," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, but it is unclear exactly when. Gurman said a new iPhone SE will be announced this week, and the new Mac and iPad models should follow by March or April at the absolute latest, but perhaps much sooner.

In a paywalled report today, the Taiwanese supply chain publication vaguely said that the new devices will be "transitioning to Apple's own chips." Given that Macs and iPads already use Apple-designed processors, the report could be referring to Apple's rumored Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. However, Gurman previously reported that the chip would come to Macs and iPads "by 2026," so the exact timing of this shift remains to be seen.

Gurman said Apple's planned Wi-Fi chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, but it is unclear if it would have any consumer benefits compared to existing Wi-Fi chips in Apple devices, supplied by Broadcom. One benefit of Apple's chip could be power efficiency.

The new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are expected to be equipped with the M4 chip, while the iPad Air is rumored to get the M3 chip and the iPad 11 is said to gain either the A16 chip or A17 Pro chip. Beyond chips, no major changes are expected.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad Air , MacBook Air
Related Forums: iPad, MacBook Air

After months of teasers and leaks, the Powerbeats Pro 2 were finally announced by Apple today. A key new feature built into the Powerbeats Pro 2 is heart rate monitoring, and that functionality is expected to expand to AirPods in the future.

AirPods Pro 3 Heart Rate Tracking Feature
When both Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds are placed in the ears, and heart rate monitoring is active, Apple says LED optical sensors pulse at over 100 times per second to measure heart rate via blood flow. The feature integrates with popular fitness apps to collect data during workouts and sync it to the Apple Health app on the iPhone.

The feature is based on the Apple Watch's heart rate sensing technology. If someone is wearing both Powerbeats Pro 2 and an Apple Watch, Apple says apps will default to using Apple Watch heart rate data, and it will likely be the same for future AirPods.

In his coverage of the Powerbeats Pro 2 announcement today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that new AirPods with heart rate monitoring are "still many months away" from launching. The feature is likely to be available on the AirPods Pro 3, which are currently expected to launch in late 2025 at the earliest.

Related Roundup: AirPods Pro
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: AirPods

Through February 20, Boston-based RR Auction is auctioning a rare Apple Computer business card signed by Steve Jobs. RR Auction says the business card is from around 1983, and it lists Jobs as Chairman of Apple's Board of Directors.

Steve Jobs Business Card Feature 6 Colors
The business card has been authenticated by well-known memorabilia grading service PSA, which rated it a "Gem Mint 10," aka a "virtually perfect card."

The next bid is already set at nearly $50,000, but note that a similar Jobs-signed business card sold for just over $181,000 at auction last year.

Jobs passed away in 2011 at the age of 56. Throughout his career, he was reluctant to sign autographs, so items with his signature on them often sell for large sums of money. In 2023, for example, a check signed by Jobs sold for over $100,000 at auction.

In an emailed press release today, Apple revealed two additional games that will be available through Apple Arcade starting Thursday, March 6. Those games are Piano Tiles 2+ and Crazy Eights: Card Games+ for the iPhone and iPad.

apple arcade orange feature
Piano Tiles 2+ description:

The original and all-time classic piano game is getting fine-tuned with exciting new features for Apple Arcade. Players around the world can tap along to their favorite tunes, joining over 1 billion fans in this satisfying rhythm game. Players must avoid the white tiles and tap the black ones in perfect sync with the melody to achieve the highest score. With smoother gameplay, no ads, and an expansive music library featuring genres like classical, dance, and ragtime, Piano Tiles 2+ delivers endless challenges.

Crazy Eights: Card Games+ description:

Crazy Eights: Card Games+ is the classic card game reimagined with unique new rules, an exciting competitive leaderboard, various modes, and fun new themes. Players match cards by color or number in a race to shed their hand first, offering an engaging mix of luck and fast-paced strategy. With unique twists like stacking +2 cards, strategic Wild 8, Skip Queen, and Reverse Ace cards – every round becomes a fun battle of wits.

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 Apple Vision Pro, all free of ads and in-app purchases. In the U.S., Apple Arcade costs $6.99 per month and is bundled with other Apple services in all Apple One plans.

Tap to Pay on iPhone continues to expand to additional countries and platforms around the world, with payments company Deluxe being the latest to adopt it.

tap to pay on iphone chile
Small businesses and merchants can offer Tap to Pay on iPhone through Deluxe's app dlxPAY.

Launched in 2022, Tap to Pay on iPhone allows businesses to accept contactless payments on an iPhone, with no additional point-of-sale hardware like a Square Terminal required. The feature allows customers to pay by simply tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch, contactless credit card or debit card, or other contactless payment option on the merchant's iPhone. Payment is securely completed using the same NFC technology behind Apple Pay.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in the following countries:

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Czechia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Romania
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Here are some major platforms that support Tap to Pay on iPhone:

  • Square
  • Stripe
  • Clover
  • Zettle by PayPal
  • Venmo
  • Chase for Business
  • GoDaddy
  • Adyen
  • Revolut
  • Viva
  • Zeller

Apple's Beats brand is officially introducing the Powerbeats Pro 2 today, bringing significant updates to the wireless earphones aimed at active users. Among the upgrades for Powerbeats Pro 2 are Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio, an H2 chip for improved power efficiency and Apple ecosystem integration, and for the first time in an Apple audio product, Heart Rate Monitoring.


We got an early preview of the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 a couple of weeks ago and have been able to spend additional time with them since then, so be sure to check out our hands-on video above for full impressions, and read on below for details on the specs.

Apple has been teasing the Powerbeats Pro 2 with celebrity appearances since last year, so we've known for quite a while that they feature a redesigned body but retain their trademark earhook that helps secure them during vigorous physical activity.

With the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2, the earhook is 50 percent smaller than on the original ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ and has been reinforced with a nickel–titanium alloy for greater flexibility and comfort, making it easy to slip on while ensuring it snaps back into shape for a secure fit. An IPX4 rating means ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 are sweat and water resistant, while upgraded venting and a fifth ear tip size (XS, S, M, L, XL included) help ensure a comfortable fit.

powerbeats pro 2 1
The redesigned body reduces weight by 20 percent compared to the original ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, but efficiency improvements delivered by the H2 chip boost battery life of the buds themselves to 10 hours with ANC off compared to 9 hours with the previous generation. The onboard battery in the case pushes total battery life to 45 hours, up significantly from the previous 24 hours even though the case is 33 percent smaller. The case is also the first ever from Beats to support wireless Qi charging in addition to USB-C.

On the audio performance side, the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 feature a redesigned acoustic architecture with a custom-designed dual-layer transducer plus a host of modern Apple earphone features that were missing from the previous generation: Active Noise Cancellation with Transparency mode to selectively allow outside sound in, Adaptive EQ to adjust frequencies in real-time for optimal sound, and Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking to make it feel like sound remains anchored to the device that's playing it.

powerbeats pro 2 2
‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 are also the first Beats product to support Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency, optimized for Vision Pro with the H2 chips in both devices working together to deliver an immersive audio/video experience with Apple's headset.

A key new feature for active users is Heart Rate Monitoring, a feature MacRumors discovered some time ago based on code in Apple's software updates. When both earbuds are in the ears and Heart Rate Monitoring is active, LED optical sensors pulse at over 100 times per second to measure heart rate via blood flow, integrating with popular fitness apps to collect data during workouts and sync it to the Apple Health app. Supported apps at launch include Open (meditation), Peloton (various fitness workouts), Runna (running), Slopes (skiing), Ladder (strength training), Nike Run Club (running), and YaoYao (jump roping).

powerbeats pro 2 3
For iOS users, Heart Rate Monitoring automatically begins when a workout is started in a compatible app, and it automatically ends when the workout is stopped. Android users will need to manually turn on Heart Rate Monitoring via the earbuds themselves or in the Beats app, but monitoring will automatically end when the workout is completed.

Apple says that when a user is wearing both an Apple Watch and ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2, apps and Apple Health will default to using data from the Apple Watch, a choice Apple made to not disrupt the existing base of Apple Watch users who have already been tracking heart rate data. Apple notes, however, that both methods have been thoroughly validated and should yield similar results.

‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 can also be paired to compatible gym equipment to enable at-a-glance viewing as you work out.

powerbeats pro 2 4
Thanks to the H2 chip, you can expect the full suite of Apple integration features with ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2, including one-touch pairing, automatic switching between devices via iCloud, Audio Sharing to allow multiple people to listen to the same audio source, hands-free Siri, and Find My support. Android users get many of the same features through the Beats app, including one-touch pairing, Heart Rate Monitoring control, customizable functionality, and a Find My-like Locate My Beats function.

‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 include the iconic "b" logo button on each earbud, and you can customize the press-and-hold gesture to either cycle through Noise Control modes or activate ‌Siri‌. Quicker single and double presses of the "b" button perform traditional functions like play/pause, track skip, and answer/mute/end calls. Each earbud also features a tactile volume rocker, making it easy to adjust volume right from your earbud without needing to mess with your connected device.

powerbeats pro 2 5
Each earbud includes three microphones and a voice accelerometer, leveraging advanced computational audio and machine-learning algorithms to optimize call performance with features like Voice Isolation to reduct background noise.

‌Powerbeats Pro‌ 2 are available to order at apple.com starting today in four colors: Electric Orange, Hyper Purple, Jet Black, and Quick Sand. They're available at the same $249.99 price point as the previous generation, and they will be on store shelves starting this Thursday, February 13.

Apple in recent months "passed over" the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, according to The Information.

Apple Intelligence iPhone 16
DeepSeek has garnered significant media attention over the past few weeks, as it developed an artificial intelligence model at a lower cost and with reduced power consumption compared to competitors. However, the U.S. and some other countries have moved to ban DeepSeek on government devices due to privacy concerns.

Apple is required to work with a local Chinese company to develop artificial intelligence models for devices sold in China. The report said Apple had targeted Baidu as its partner last year, but Apple eventually decided that Baidu did not meet its standards, leading it to assess models from other companies in recent months.

The report said Apple has assessed models developed by Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, and it appears to be moving forward on a partnership with Alibaba at this time. Apple and Alibaba have submitted a first set of artificial intelligence features that they co-developed to China's cyberspace regulator for approval, the report said.

Apple Intelligence will gain support for additional languages this year, including Chinese, according to Apple. The next set of new languages are coming in an April software update. However, this Chinese language support might be limited to countries outside of China until if and when Apple Intelligence is approved to launch there.

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.

If the audio playing through your Apple Watch Series 10's speaker becomes harder to hear after repeated use, you are not alone.

Series 10 Volume Issues Feature
There are a growing number of complaints about a potential Apple Watch Series 10 speaker issue across the Apple Support Community and Reddit. Affected users say the speaker audio becomes quiet or muffled over time, even after using the Water Lock feature to eject water from the speaker following swimming or another water activity.

The low volume affects both phone calls and music, according to the complaints.

It is unclear how widespread this issue is, or if there is an underlying hardware or software problem. If a hardware issue affects enough customers, Apple sometimes opts to launch a service program offering free repairs. If a software issue is discovered, then Apple should be able to address it with a future watchOS update.

Apple Watch Series 10 models launched in September 2024. I was unable to replicate the issue on my Apple Watch Series 10, but I have only owned it for about six weeks and have not used the speaker much, as I tend to use AirPods Pro.

We have reached out to Apple for comment about this matter, and we will update this post in the unlikely event that the company responds.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

There are several ways to search the web in Apple's Safari browser. In this article, we're going to highlight a way of searching specific websites using a lesser-known Safari feature called Quick Website Search.

safari icon blue banner
The option is designed to work with sites that have a built-in search field, like the one you can find at the top of the main page at MacRumors.com. Here's how it works.

Let's say you want to look up articles on MacRumors that mention device benchmarks. You might do this by typing "macrumors benchmarks" into Safari's address bar to get results from whichever search engine the browser is configured to use.

safari
If you're a bit more search savvy, you might even type "site:macrumors.com benchmarks" to limit the search to MacRumors. But ideally you'd just navigate to MacRumors.com and use the search field provided at the top of the page. If you take the latter option and Quick Website Search is enabled, Safari will remember that you've used the MacRumors search field and offer to use it again in future searches that include the website's name.

safari
For example, if you typed "macrumors" followed by "deals" directly into Safari's address bar, you could tap the option Search macrumors.com for "deals" in the suggestions box, as shown above, and you'd get instant results from MacRumors' own on-site search function.

How to Enable Quick Website Search in iOS

The functionality of Quick Website Search depends on how a given site implements its search field, but we've found that it works with most popular websites that offer them, so it's worth making sure you have the feature enabled. To do this on iPhone and iPad, launch the Settings app, tap through to Apps ➝ Safari ➝ Quick Website Search and slide the Quick Website Search toggle to the green ON position.

settings
Notice on this screen that you can also tap Edit to remove websites from the list of shortcuts that Safari automatically adds to whenever you use a site-specific search field.

How to Enable Quick Website Search on Mac

The feature works the same way in Safari for macOS. To see if it's enabled in the browser, select Safari ➝ Settings... from the menu bar, choose the Search tab, and make sure the checkbox is ticked next to Enable Quick Website Search.

safari
Lastly, if you click the Manage Websites... button next to the checkbox, you can view Safari's list of website shortcuts, remove individual websites, or clear the list completely.

Tag: Safari

Elon Musk on Monday led a consortium of investors in making a $97.4 billion unsolicited offer to acquire ChatGPT maker OpenAI's nonprofit arm – only to face immediate rejection from CEO Sam Altman.

open ai new typeface
The Wall Street Journal reports that the bid included backing from Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI and prominent investors like Valor Equity Partners and Baron Capital. Musk co-founded OpenAI as a charity with Altman in 2015.

"It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk said in a statement through his lawyer Marc Toberoff. The consortium pledged to match or exceed any competing offers.

Altman quickly dismissed the proposal on X (formerly Twitter) with a pointed response: "No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want" – an apparent jab at Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022.

Musk responded to the post with a one-word reply: "Swindler."

The attempted takeover comes amid OpenAI's ongoing transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure, with the company recently valued at $157 billion. The transformation has been contentious between Musk and his former colleagues. There have been multiple lawsuits where Musk has accused OpenAI of betraying its founding principles.

In a message to employees reported by WSJ, Altman reassured staff that OpenAI's structure prevents any individual from taking control of the company, describing Musk's offer as "tactics to try and weaken us because we are making great progress."

The bid's investor group included other backers such as Atreides Management, Vy Capital, and 8VC, a venture firm led by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, along with Hollywood executive Ari Emanuel's investment fund.

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.

Tag: OpenAI

Google has announced that NotebookLM Plus, its advanced AI-powered research and note-taking tool, is now included with Google One AI Premium subscriptions at no additional cost to consumers.

notebooklm logo
If you haven't come across it before, NotebookLM functions as an AI research companion that helps users analyze and interact with their documents, websites, and other content. The tool can generate summaries, create FAQ lists, produce timeline views, and even transform research materials into podcast-style audio discussions with AI-generated hosts. Google originally launched it in 2023, and then launched its NotebookLM Plus plan for businesses, schools, organizations, and enterprise customers in December.

The Plus version significantly expands on the free tier's capabilities, offering five times higher usage limits. The free version allows for 100 notebooks with 50 sources each, while Plus subscribers can create up to 500 notebooks containing 300 sources per notebook. Daily interaction limits are also increased from 50 to 500 chat queries, and audio generation capacity jumps from 3 to 20 per day.

In addition to the above, NotebookLM Plus introduces several premium features, including customizable response styles, advanced sharing options, and analytics that track notebook usage. Users can choose between predefined AI personalities like "Guide" or "Analyst," or create their own custom style for interactions.

A Google One AI Premium plan costs $19.99 per month and includes 2TB of storage along with access to Gemini Advanced and Gemini integration in Gmail and Google Docs. A one-month trial is available at no cost. Google is also offering U.S. students aged 18 and older a 50% discount, bringing the monthly cost down to $9.99 for the first year.

Tag: Google