Apple is losing another important director as a new report from Bloomberg has just revealed that Frank Casanova, currently senior director and head of product marketing for Apple Vision Pro, is retiring after working at the company for 36 years.

Meta this week announced some big news when it comes to its mixed reality ecosystem. The company confirmed that it is opening up the operating system for Meta Quest devices, known as Horizon OS, to third-party hardware manufacturers. This will allow devices other than those designed by Meta to run the same system, apps, and games.

WhatsApp has been internally testing passkey support in its iPhone app for some time. However, the option was still unavailable to most users. But that seems to be changing now, as Meta is slowly rolling out the passkey option to WhatsApp users on the iPhone with the latest version of the app.

Apple on Tuesday announced that it will hold a special event on May 7. Although the company doesn’t usually discuss the topics of the event, the invitation artwork makes it clear that it will be all about iPad – as we can see an Apple Pencil in it. To add fuel to the fire, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted that we’ll see at least a new Apple Pencil 3 next month.

Apple will announce new iPad models next month, and this includes a new generation iPad Pro powered by the M3 chip and featuring OLED displays for the first time. However, the 11-inch version may face supply problems due to OLED display shipments, which could make it more difficult to buy one at launch.

It’s been a while since Meta launched its own smart glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban, and I’ve already written about them here on 9to5Mac. Now those who own Ray-Ban Meta can enjoy deeper integration with Apple Music thanks to Meta’s latest update.

There have been many rumors about the launch of new iPads soon given that it has been over a year since Apple last updated its tablet lineup. As the company is rumored to introduce a larger iPad Air for the first time, accessory makers are already selling cases for the yet-to-be-released 12.9-inch iPad Air.

Since the launch of Apple Vision Pro, we’ve seen some examples of surgeons using the headset to assist them during procedures. Now an orthopedic doctor in Brazil has used a Vision Pro to successfully operate on a patient with a rotator cuff tear.

Apple surprised everyone earlier this month with a change to the App Store guidelines that now allows retro game console emulator apps for its platforms, including iOS and tvOS. Following the success of Delta, the developers behind Provenance have now confirmed that they will soon release it on the App Store, bringing PlayStation emulation to iPhone and iPad users.

Apple is rumored to be working on a new HomePod with a touchscreen LCD display on top, and we’ve already seen some images of this unreleased device floating around the web. Now Apple product collector Kosutami is back with a new image showing another part of one of these HomePod prototypes with a display.

Adobe on Thursday officially launched its new Adobe Express app with Firefly AI for iOS and Android. This version of the app has been available to beta testers for some time, and can now be downloaded by anyone. Read on as we detail everything that’s new with the Adobe Express update.

Logitech is known for its computer accessories such as keyboards and mouse. On Wednesday, the company announced the new M750 Wireless Mouse – which looks like any other Logitech mouse. However, this is the company’s first “Signature AI Edition” mouse with a dedicated ChatGPT button.

Microsoft on Tuesday launched a native OneNote app for visionOS, showing the company’s commitment to its customers who use Apple Vision Pro. This comes after the company released Microsoft Office apps for Apple’s mixed reality headset.

Customers in the US can book a Vision Pro demo at one of the Apple Retail Stores to experience the headset for around 30 minutes. During the demo, customers watch some pre-loaded content, including Spatial Videos made by Apple. However, the company will soon let users watch their own content during a Vision Pro demo session.

A report last year revealed that Elon Musk had plans to introduce a new charge for users who have just registered on X (formerly Twitter) on the grounds that this would be the only way to make the platform free of bots. Now Musk himself has confirmed his intentions and revealed more details about this potential fee.

A recent report revealed that Spotify is planning to raise the price of its subscription soon, at least in some countries. And for those who think that paying $10.99 a month for a music streaming platform is already too much, the company may soon introduce an even more expensive “Music Pro” subscription that will enable lossless audio and some other extra features.

Threads, Meta’s microblogging platform, has come a long way since its launch almost a year ago. However, Threads still lacks some important features – such as an option to show real-time search results. After Meta said it had no plans to make this a reality, the company is finally letting some Threads users see recent search results.

Taylor Swift is about to release her newest album called “The Tortured Poets Department” on April 19. Last week, the singer had already partnered with Apple Music to release a series of playlists with a voice message from Taylor to promote her new album. Now Taylor Swift is using Apple Music lyrics to share some riddles with her fans.

With the launch of the M3 MacBook Pro last year, many reviewers and customers criticized the company for still selling premium computers with 8GB of RAM. At the time, Apple said that 8GB in a Mac is equivalent to having 16GB of RAM in a Windows PC. Now the company is again arguing in favor of selling Macs with 8GB of RAM in 2024.

Meta’s Facebook Messenger received an important update this week with a great addition for its users. From now on, users can upload HD photos, as well as other larger files. Read on as we detail what’s new in Facebook Messenger.

The popular image editing software Pixelmator Pro has just received another update with new features. This time, users are getting the ability to edit text in PDF files, as well as better support for Apple PDF files and new “bento” templates.

We’ve seen some Apple Retail Stores seeking to unionize in recent years, especially after a store in Maryland became the first in the US to vote to unionize. Now the staff at Apple Short Hills in New Jersey has also petitioned to unionize.

Meta confirmed last month that it plans to launch the official Threads API for developers in June. With the API, developers will be able to create apps and other tools that integrate with the social networking platform. Now the company owned by Mark Zuckerberg has shared more details about what to expect from the Threads API.

Apple has been working on new iPads for a long time, since the last time the company introduced new iPads was in October 2022. According to rumors, the next generation is expected to be equipped with OLED displays for the first time – and the first iPadOS 17.5 beta seems to confirm this.

The AR/VR device market has always been considered a niche. Even with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro earlier this year, there was no expectation of major changes due to the high price tag of $3,500. However, a new survey by Piper Sandler has revealed that teenagers are using more VR headsets, at least in the US.

The social network X (formerly Twitter) introduced support for passkeys earlier this year. However, the new option was only available to iOS users based in the US. As of today, X is making passkey login available globally.

Apple’s AirPower was canceled in 2019 and never saw the light of day. However, a few people have got their hands on prototype units – some of them partially functional. Now, thanks to an Apple prototype collector, we can take a look at an AirPower prototype recharging an Apple Watch for the first time.

A recent study revealed that Apple TV+ is the streaming platform with the highest rated content on IMDb, despite having the smallest catalog of them all. Now JustWatch has shared the streaming platforms’ market share figures for the first quarter of 2024, which show that Apple TV+ has grown in the US – but still lags behind its main competitors.

Gentler Streak, one of the most popular fitness and wellness apps for Apple devices, is back with another update that brings improvements and new features. The latest version of the app features a redesigned and more intuitive monthly activity.

After the EU commission fined Apple $2 billion and announced that it’s not satisfied with the changes the company made to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple on Friday updated the App Store guidelines again. This time, the company is making it easier for music streaming apps to redirect users to an external website in the EU. And for the first time, Apple will allow game emulators on its platforms.

Apple is laying off more than 700 employees as the company has just canceled its Apple Car project and is also reconsidering the project to develop in-house Micro-LED displays. The layoffs became known after the company filed WARN notices in the state of California.

Apple has just announced that it will release its earnings report for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 on Thursday, May 2. As usual, the company will release its Q2 2024 earnings report and then hold a conference call with investors and analysts to provide more detail.

As we previously reported, Apple announced WWDC 2024 on June 10-14. Although the event will be streamed online with pre-recorded sessions, developers had the chance to sign up to attend an in-person event at Apple Park. Now Apple is notifying the winners of the WWDC 2024 lottery who will have the chance to watch the opening event right from Apple Park.

If you’ve been experiencing problems when trying to access the App Store, it’s not just you. The App Store is currently down for users around the world. Although Apple is yet to acknowledge the problem, many people have been complaining about an ongoing outage affecting the App Store.

Update: Apple has updated its System Status to confirm that App Store is down. Apple Arcade, Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple Sports, Apple TV+, and Apple Podcasts are also facing outages.

Update #2: Apple says that the outages have been resolved and its services are back online.

Apple on Monday warned podcast creators that the Apple Podcasts Connect platform will be unavailable for a few hours on April 13. The outage is due to scheduled maintenance and is expected to last around two hours.

Apple last year announced a partnership with Google to work on a new “industry specification to address unwanted tracking” after many concerns about stalkers using accessories like to silently track people. Now it seems that Apple is planning to launch these new anti-stalking features with iOS 17.5.

As Apple is expected to introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models soon, we’ve also heard rumors about the company working on new accessories for its tablets. 9to5Mac has now found evidence that corroborates the development of a new Apple Pencil 3 – and that it will feature a new “squeeze” gesture.

on Tuesday announced a new special edition of its Beats Fit Pro wireless earbuds. In partnership with Alo Yoga, the new Beats “Alo Special Edition” will be available later this week with an exclusive new finish to celebrate the partnership between the two companies.

With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the EU, Apple was forced to allow developers to distribute their apps through alternative app stores (or App Marketplace) in member countries. However, these developers are required to pay Apple a Core Technology Fee after they reach a certain number of downloads. To make things easier for small developers, AltStore will offer Patreon-backed apps.

iOS provides developers with an API to lock apps with Face ID or Touch ID. However, not every app has this option, and there’s no way to completely hide apps from your device. Luckily, “App Lock” is a simple but powerful app that helps users protect and even hide any apps on their iPhone and iPad. Read on as we detail how the app works.

As WWDC 2024 approaches, Apple this week launched a new webpage with tutorials for developers learning the first steps on how to develop using Xcode, Swift, and Swift UI. Named “Develop in Swift Tutorials,” the webpage is now live with guides showing new developers how to install Xcode and start their first Swift project.

Apple Vision Pro is currently only available in the US, but there have been a lot of rumors recently about the international expansion of the new headset. Now a report from WatchGeneration claims that Apple has been inviting employees from its retail stores in France for Vision Pro training this summer.

As reported on Tuesday, Apple today notified the winners of the 2024 Swift Student Challenge. For those unfamiliar, the competition encourages developers to show off their coding skills by creating playground projects. This year, some of the winners will attend an in-person WWDC 2024 event at Apple Park.

It’s been five years since Apple TV+ was announced. Although its content library is not as vast as that of its competitors, Apple TV+ movies and shows have won multiple awards since then. Interestingly, a study by Self Financial found that Apple TV+ is the streaming platform with the highest rated content on IMDb.

There are many known phishing attacks that target users of Apple devices to gain access to their Apple ID. However, a new “elaborate” attack uses a bug in the Apple ID password reset feature with “push bombing” or “MFA fatigue” techniques to flood Apple devices with password reset requests.

Apple last week released iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 to iPhone and iPad users. Although the updates don’t add any new features, they do bring two important security patches. For some unknown reason, Apple has now quietly released a revised build of iOS 17.4.1.

The Affinity suite of apps, which includes Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher, has become known as an excellent alternative to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, as Serif – the company behind the Affinity apps – has now been acquired by Canva in a multi-million dollar deal.

Apple last month opened applications for the 2024 Swift Student Challenge. The annual competition encourages developers to show off their coding skills by creating playground projects. This year, Swift Student Challenge winners will be invited to attend the WWDC 2024 kick-off event at Apple Park.

Apple on Tuesday announced WWDC 2024, the next edition of its annual conference for developers, which will take place from June 10 to 14. Ahead of the special event, the company has now unveiled a new YouTube channel where developers can find all the WWDC sessions to watch.

Apple recently released iOS 17.4.1 and macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, both with two security patches. For users running older versions of macOS, the company has now released a standalone update for Safari, its own web browser, with the same patches included with macOS 14.4.1.