MacRumors

OpenAI has updated ChatGPT with support for CarPlay, which means ‌CarPlay‌ users can now ask ChatGPT questions and make requests directly from their vehicle dashboard.

Apple began allowing third-party voice-based conversational apps to interface with ‌CarPlay‌ in iOS 26.4, but apps need to implement the feature and get a special entitlement from Apple.

For the ChatGPT app and other apps that implement ‌CarPlay‌ support, voice has to be the primary method of interaction. Apple says that chatbot apps should not show text or imagery in response to queries.

Apple has a voice control template that apps are required to use. Apps have to display the voice control screen while voice-based services are active, and apps are able to have up to four action buttons. To use ChatGPT with ‌CarPlay‌, an iPhone running iOS 26.4 or later is required.

‌CarPlay‌ has supported third-party apps for years, but Apple limits the types of apps that are available to cut down on driver distractions. Apple has a list of allowed app categories, which includes audio apps, communication apps, EV charging apps, and navigation apps.

ChatGPT integration will let users ask questions hands-free, but the chatbot is not able to control vehicle or iPhone functions. There is no wake word, so users will need to open the ChatGPT app to use it.

Apple is providing employees with a special gift in honor of its 50th anniversary, which takes place on Wednesday, April 1. Employees will receive a commemorative t-shirt, enamel pin, and limited-edition poster, all of which have the scribble-style rainbow Apple logo that Apple has been using for its 50th anniversary artwork.

An Apple Park sign says that products are "crafted by hand" and are available for employees to pick up until April 30.

Apple kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations in March, and has been hosting concerts and Today at Apple events around the world. There was an Alicia Keys concert in New York, a Li Yuchun performance in Chengdu, a Mumford & Sons concert in London, a meetup with professional figure skater Elladj Baldé in Vancouver, a light show with music composed by Bailey Pickles in Sydney, and more.

Apple plans to wrap up its 50th anniversary party with a special finale performance at its ‌Apple Park‌ campus for employees. The musical guest hasn't yet been announced, but rumors suggest that it will be Paul McCartney.

Just ahead of the launch of the AirPods Max 2, Apple has released new firmware for the headphones. The updated firmware is version number 8E251.

The ‌AirPods Max 2‌ include the H2 chip, an upgrade over the H1. The H2 brings several new features like Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, Loud Sound Reduction, Voice Isolation, and more. The new firmware likely optimizes some of these new features.

Customers who buy the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ can follow Apple's steps to get the new firmware.

To get the new firmware, make sure your AirPods are in range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and are connected via Bluetooth. From there, connect the Apple device to Wi-Fi, then connect the AirPods Max to power with a USB-C cable. Keep the AirPods Max in Bluetooth range of the Apple device, and wait at least 30 minutes for the firmware to update.

From there, reconnect the AirPods to the Apple device, and check the firmware version to see if it's updated. Apple says if the firmware doesn't install, to restart the AirPods Max and try again.

Apple today added the MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) to its "vintage" products list, meaning the device is now only eligible for repairs at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers if parts remain available.

The MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) was the final MacBook Air model released before Apple redesigned the laptop and gave it a Retina display in 2018.

Apple also added all iPad mini 4 and Apple TV HD (32GB) configurations to its "obsolete" products list, meaning those devices are no longer eligible for service whatsoever.

iPad mini 4 launched in 2015, and it was discontinued in 2019.

Apple TV HD was first released in 2015 and discontinued in October 2022, when the third-generation Apple TV 4K launched. However, only Apple TV HD units with 32GB of storage are considered obsolete for now.

A "vintage" device was last distributed by Apple for sale more than five years ago, while for "obsolete" that timeframe rises to seven years.

Apple's first-generation AirTag 4-Pack has dropped to $59.99 this week on Amazon, down from the original price of $99.00.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Overall, this is an all-time low price on the AirTag 4-pack. This model has been fluctuating in and out of stock on Amazon for the past few days, so be sure to grab it soon if you're interested.

Apple recently debuted the all-new AirTag, featuring longer range for tracking items and a louder speaker. We haven't tracked any notable discounts on the new second generation models as of yet, so anyone who wants to save money should keep looking into the original models.

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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The updated version of Siri that Apple plans to release in iOS 27 may be able to handle multiple commands in a single query, reports Bloomberg. With the feature, users would be able to make multi-step requests that ‌Siri‌ would carry out, such as getting directions to a location and then sending those directions to someone in a message.

‌Siri‌ has long been limited to a single command for most requests, and the personal assistant is not able to parse queries with multiple components. ‌Siri‌ can answer follow-up questions without being activated via wake word, but the requests still need to be separate.

The ability to handle multiple requests will be part of the Apple Intelligence update that Apple has been working on since June 2024. ‌Siri‌ will have more personal context than before, will understand what's on the user's screen, and will be able to do more in and between apps. ‌Siri‌ will be able to access the web to summarize information, a feature that Apple could call World Knowledge Answers, and it may gain image generation capabilities with Image Playground integration.

Apple is also testing an updated version of the keyboard that would integrate AI. The keyboard could suggest grammar fixes and alternative words in addition to fixing typos, but Apple hasn't decided on whether to include it in ‌iOS 27‌.

Apple plans to turn ‌Siri‌ into a chatbot that can compete with Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini. Chatbots have no problem parsing natural language requests with multiple variables and actions that need to be completed. Apple is designing a standalone ‌Siri‌ app for chatbot interactions, but the personal assistant will be deeply integrated into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

The updated version of ‌Siri‌ will be part of ‌iOS 27‌, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27, software updates that Apple plans to preview at WWDC. WWDC 2026 begins on June 8 with a keynote event.

There's no word on whether the ‌Siri‌ features will be immediately available when Apple provides the first beta of ‌iOS 27‌ to developers, or if it will take some time for the updates to roll out. Apple is planning to introduce the smarter version of ‌Siri‌ by September, but that doesn't mean that some features can't be held until an ‌iOS 27‌ update next spring. As with some of the initial ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features, the new ‌Siri‌ capabilities will likely have a "Preview" label, indicating they are not finished.

In a Telegram post today, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that Apple is among a list of major American companies that the country may target amid its ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel, according to CBS News.

The report said the Telegram post listed 18 companies that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps views as "legitimate targets," including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, IBM, Cisco, Tesla, Boeing, Nvidia, J.P. Morgan, and others.

The post accused the companies of acting as "spies" for the U.S. government, the report said.

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 updated the Studio Display earlier this month, four years after the original launched. Here's how it compares to the original model.

The new model keeps the same $1,599 starting price, 27-inch 5K panel, and overall design, but brings a handful of small internal improvements: a newer chip, upgraded Thunderbolt connectivity, Desk View camera support, and improved bass. The display itself, a 60Hz LCD panel with 600 nits of brightness, is unchanged.

Our guide helps you to understand the differences between the two models, and answer the question of which of these two Studio Displays is best for you and whether it's worth upgrading. Here is everything that differs between the 2022 and 2026 Studio Display:

‌Studio Display‌ (2022)	‌Studio Display‌ (2026)
A13 Bionic chip	A19 chip
4GB RAM	8GB RAM
64GB internal storage	128GB internal storage
One Thunderbolt 3 port (upstream, 96W host charging)	Two Thunderbolt 5 ports (one upstream with 96W host charging, one downstream for accessories or daisy-chaining)
Three USB-C ports	Two USB-C ports
12MP Center Stage camera	12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support
Six-speaker sound system	Six-speaker sound system with 30% deeper bass
Standard Thunderbolt cable included	Thunderbolt 5 Pro cable (1m) included
Compatible with Intel and Apple silicon Macs	Requires Apple silicon Mac (2020 or later)

For existing 2022 ‌Studio Display‌ owners, there is no general-purpose reason to upgrade. The panel is identical, the pass-through charging is the same 96W, and the practical day-to-day experience in front of both screens is the same. The Thunderbolt 5 ports are the only change that meaningfully affect how the display is used, and only if you need high-bandwidth peripherals or daisy-chaining. For everyone else, the update is not worth the cost of replacement.

• Studio Display vs. Studio Display XDR Buyer's Guide

For new buyers, the picture is a little more nuanced. At the same $1,599 starting price, the 2026 model is the obvious choice; it is simply the better-specified display for the same money and may last longer.

However, the 2022 ‌Studio Display‌ has been discontinued and stock is available at a discount from third-party retailers. Given how little changed between the two generations, the older model at a sufficiently lower price is a good purchase for most buyers, particularly if you have no need for Thunderbolt 5 or Desk View. The display panel itself is identical.

The compatibility constraint is also worth bearing in mind: The 2026 model requires an Apple silicon Mac, while the 2022 model works with Intel machines too. Apple stopped selling Intel Macs in 2023, so this will only affect a narrowing group, but it is a hard limitation if it applies to you.

Google today announced that you can finally change the Google Account email address that you use for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Photos, Google Drive, and more, but this ability is only rolling out to U.S. accounts for now. The company did not indicate if or when this functionality will be available in other countries.

You can switch to any available @gmail.com address, and your previous address will become an alias, ensuring that you retain ownership of your original email address. You can still sign in and send and receive emails with both addresses.

You can change your Google Account's email address once per year, up to three times total, and Google says all emails and other account data and history are preserved. If you change your mind, you can revert to your old email address.

This new ability will be especially useful for longtime Gmail users who may have chosen a casual email address when they were younger. For example, maybe 13-year-old you signed up for sk8erboi2006@gmail.com, but as an adult you would prefer to have a more professional johnsmith@gmail.com address.

It was already possible to set up other email addresses as aliases in Gmail, but now you can change your account's main email address entirely.

Google provides more details in a support document.

Apple just launched the new line of Studio Displays this month, and Amazon already has a few $100 discounts on select models during its Big Spring Sale. You can get the Standard Glass Studio Display with Tilt-Adjustable Stand for $1,499.00, down from $1,599.00, an all-time low price.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Additionally, we're tracking $100 discounts on a few other 2026 Studio Display models on Amazon this week, including Nano-Texture, VESA Mount, and Tilt- and Height-Adjustable Stand options. Some models are seeing delivery dates slip into late April, but otherwise you'll find April 6 dates for free delivery options.

Additionally, Amazon has the Studio Display XDR (Standard Glass with VESA Mount) on sale at $100 off this week. You can get this model for $3,199.00, down from $3,299.00, another new record low price.

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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Apple continues to develop a new feature for its Shortcuts app that will let users generate unique actions using Apple Intelligence models, based on backend code discovered by Nicolás Alvarez and confirmed by MacRumors.

For those unfamiliar with the Shortcuts app, the tool lets users create elaborate custom workflows or actions – called shortcuts – to perform tasks automatically or with minimal interaction. Actions can include anything from sending messages to controlling smart home devices. The app emerged out of Apple's 2017 acquisition of Workflow, which was rebranded as Shortcuts the following year.

As part of iOS 26, Apple added Apple Intelligence support to the Shortcuts app, allowing AI models to be incorporated into shortcuts. In contrast, the new version that Apple is working on will let users create actions using Apple Intelligence models – by issuing voice commands in natural language, for example – which should give the app more mass appeal.

Last June, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was working on the AI-driven feature for release in 2025, but he said that delays could see it launch in 2026. For iOS 27, Apple is expected to include a revamped Siri that functions like a genuine conversational chatbot and can interact with apps, so it's likely that the shortcuts generator will be part of its skill set.

The $549 AirPods Max 2 are set to launch tomorrow, and ahead of the debut of the new over-ear headphones, Apple sent a pair for MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera to check out.

With the new H2 chip in the AirPods Max, Apple says Active Noise Cancellation is 1.5x better than the ANC in the prior-generation model, and ANC is indeed clearly improved. More exterior noise is eliminated than before, plus audio quality has changed. There's a new digital signal processing algorithm and a high dynamic range amplifier, and when comparing the AirPods Max USB-C to the ‌AirPods Max 2‌, you can hear the difference.

There's more separation between highs, mids, and lows, and there's more bass than before, but it doesn't feel overdone. Audiophiles who pay attention to how music is mixed will appreciate the quality boost in the ‌AirPods Max 2‌. You're getting sound similar to the AirPods Pro 3, but with the over-ear form factor, which provides a wider soundstage and richer audio.

Individual instruments are easier to pick out with spatial audio, and spatial audio feels more immersive. The ‌AirPods Max 2‌ are some of the best over-ear headphones you can get right now.

You'll get the clearest sound over USB-C, since the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ support 24-bit 48kHz lossless audio. The USB-C AirPods Max had lossless audio support too, but the updated sound adds more depth. When you're using a wireless connection, there is a small difference between the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ and the prior version, since the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ are using Bluetooth 5.3.

Unfortunately, Apple didn't update the AirPods Max form factor at all, and that's a major downside. These are still some of the heaviest headphones on the market at 385 grams, and Apple hasn't addressed any design complaints. There's been no change in weight, the headband is the same, and even the minimal case that no one likes is still around. Battery life hasn't changed at 20 hours of listening time, there continues to be no power button to turn the AirPods Max off, and there aren't even any new colors.

The H2 chip brings several features that the AirPods Max should have gotten some time ago, so Apple is just bringing the headphones on par with the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ and the AirPods 4. Adaptive Audio blends ANC and Transparency to adjust sound on the fly based on where you are, and Conversation Awareness pauses audio if you start to speak to someone.

Real-time Live Translation is available on the ‌AirPods Max 2‌, and there are other nice-to-have features like Personalized Volume for customizing volume based on listening habits and Loud Sound Reduction to cut down on exterior noise.

Phone calls sound better with Voice Isolation and improved microphones, and you can activate Siri without the need to say "Hey." ‌Siri‌ also supports interactions, so you can do things like nod to accept a call or shake your head to decline. Like the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌, the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ can be used as a camera shutter for the iPhone or iPad.

The ‌AirPods Max 2‌ sound fantastic and are great at cutting down on noise, but it is a somewhat disappointing update because Apple didn't refine the design of the headphones. If you have the original AirPods Max from 2020, not much has changed except for the sound profile. Whether it's worth $549 to upgrade to the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ will depend on the person. Sound quality is up, but no new design makes the headphones feel dated.

If you're new to the AirPods and want the best sound you can get via Apple-designed headphones, you won't go wrong with the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ as long as you don't mind the weight or the case.

The ‌AirPods Max 2‌ will be available starting tomorrow.

Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will feature a radical new curved design with slimmer bezels, according to a new report.

The X user "@phonefuturist" shared the claims across two posts yesterday and today. The first suggested that the device, referred to as the "anniversary" iPhone, will feature a 1.1mm bezel around the display, along with a seamlessly curved design. The post included a mock-up image showing convex display glass curving down at the edges to meet a slim, iPhone X-like polished frame. The iPhone 17 Pro has a bezel size of approximately 1.44mm.

In a follow-up post today, the same account today referred to the device as the iPhone "XX" for iPhone 20 and claimed Apple has been evaluating Samsung's under-panel camera (UPC) technology as an alternative to the under-display camera (UDC) approach more commonly discussed in rumors, but found the image quality insufficient. As a result, the post claims the iPhone 20 may ship with either a smaller Dynamic Island than the current ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ or a punch-hole cutout, paired with Samsung's "Polar ID" face authentication system.

The claims should be taken with a considerable pinch of salt given the source's unknown credibility. That said, the information is being widely circulated on social media, and parts of it broadly align with the direction more established leakers and analysts have been pointing toward for the 20th anniversary iPhone.

Apple is reportedly still targeting an all-screen design for the iPhone 20, though as recently as January, reports suggested the all-screen ambition may be in doubt due to the technical difficulty of hiding a front-facing camera beneath the display without degrading photo quality.

The under-display camera problem is well documented. Current UDC implementations, including those used by some Android manufacturers, have struggled to match the image quality of conventionally positioned sensors. With UPC, the camera sits behind the panel but uses a perforated pixel structure rather than a fully transparent region. This means it can theoretically reduce the visual footprint of a cutout, though it has its own quality trade-offs.

If Apple cannot resolve the camera quality issue before the device launches, a smaller ‌Dynamic Island‌ or a conventional punch-hole may represent the fallback position. The iPhone 18 Pro is already expected to be the first iPhone with a smaller Dynamic Island, so the iPhone 20 could take that reduction further still. Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone is expected to arrive in the fall of 2027.

Amazon today announced that it is bringing more high-speed Wi-Fi to Delta Air Lines customers via its Amazon Leo technology, which is powered by a constellation of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit – roughly 370 miles above the planet's surface.

Under the multi-year agreement, Delta will begin rolling out Amazon Leo in 2028 with an initial installation on 500 aircraft, "providing customers with high-speed, low-latency Wi-Fi from gate-to-gate."

Each Delta aircraft will be equipped with a single purpose-built phased array antenna that supports download speeds up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds up to 400 Mbps.

"We've designed Leo to provide high-speed internet to the billions of people on Earth without reliable connectivity, and this agreement with Delta is a great example of the impact and scale of the technology – bringing even faster in-flight Wi-Fi to tens of millions of passengers who fly Delta every year," said Andy Jassy, President and CEO of Amazon. "People increasingly want to stay connected wherever they are in the world, and Leo's speed and reliability is going to have a big impact for businesses, governments, and consumers. It's going to make the in-flight experience so much better, and it's going to change what's possible while traveling."

Like Delta's existing commitment to passengers, Leo-powered in-flight Wi-Fi will be free for all Delta SkyMiles members.

As part of its interoperability compliance in the EU, Apple has been working on changes to iOS that allow AirPods-like pairing and notification forwarding for third-party wearables on iPhone. In the iOS 26.5 beta released on Monday, Apple added Live Activities forwarding, and the company has now revised its Developer Program License Agreement with new rules on how the forwarding features should be accessed.

In a new section titled "3.3.3 (J), Accessory Notifications Framework and Accessory Live Activities Framework," Apple says that third parties "may not use Forwarding Information for advertising, profiling, training models, or monitoring location." It also states that they "may not disseminate the Forwarding Information to any other Application, or any other device besides Your Authorized Target Accessory."

The new section goes on to state that developers can't store forwarded notification data on servers, in the cloud, or on any remote device, and the data can only be decrypted on the accessory itself, not on a server or anywhere else along the way.

Besides formatting adjustments, the forwarded information can't be altered in any way that changes its meaning, while the accessory that receives the notification can't share that data or its encryption keys with any other device, including the user's own iPhone. In other words, the data must be locked to the device it was sent to.

Even if a developer's app doesn't use these frameworks at all, Apple says it reserves the right to forward that app's notifications to a third-party accessory if the user enables it.

Last September, Apple complained that its obligations under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) would cause feature rollout delays in the bloc, but it also warned of new privacy and security threats. Apple based these threats on companies' submitted requests, which included the complete content of a user's notifications, as well as the full history of Wi-Fi networks a user has joined.

Apple said it had explained the risks of such requests to the European Commission, but the concerns had not been accepted as valid reasons to turn them down. The new developer rules appear to be Apple's best effort to mitigate the risks regardless.

Taken together, they make it clear that Apple wants no tracking, no profiling, no cloud copies, and no sharing between devices, with developers bearing full responsibility for their app's compliance with the new rules.

Ollama, the popular app for running AI models locally on a computer, has released an update that takes advantage of Apple's own machine learning framework, MLX. The result is a hefty speed boost on Macs with Apple silicon.

According to Ollama, the new version processes prompts around 1.6 times faster (prefill speed) and nearly doubles the speed at which it generates responses (decode speed). Macs with M5-series chips are said to see the largest improvements, thanks to Apple's new GPU Neural Accelerators.

The update also includes smarter memory management, which should make AI-powered coding tools and chat assistants feel noticeably more responsive during extended use.

Ollama says the new performance boost should especially benefit macOS users who run personal assistants like OpenClaw or coding agents like Claude Code, OpenCode, or Codex.

The preview release is available to download as Ollama 0.19 – just make sure you have a Mac with more than 32GB of unified memory to run it. Support is currently limited to Alibaba's Qwen3.5, but Ollama says support for more AI models is planned.

When promoting the MacBook Neo, Apple found a surprise hit with a tiny anthropomorphized version of the Mac Finder icon, which people have taken to calling Little Finder Guy. Little Finder Guy starred in some of Apple's early March TikTok videos, and Apple is now targeting Finder fans with a trio of new videos.

Three tutorials on Apple's TikTok account star Little Finder Guy. Videos feature Stacks on the Mac desktop, ring light for video apps, and dictation. The tutorials are all shown on the ‌MacBook Neo‌, and each one includes Little Finder Guy.

Most of the comments on the videos are about Apple's new Finder mascot. Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels has created a .3mf file for 3D printing a Little Finder Guy for those that have a printer available.

Android has long had a 3D mascot that's a hybrid between a bug and a droid, which Google calls The Bot, so now there is an Apple equivalent.