Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Pretty much every tech company has been investing in generative AI for the past two years, and Apple is rumored to finally bring new AI-based tools to iPhone users soon with iOS 18. However, the costs of operating such tools are quite high, and Meta has just confirmed that it will take years for the company to make money from AI.

If you’re looking to take your desk setup to the next level, this is the guide for you. Head below for some of my favorite products that can improve your working setup, ranging from accessories to decorations and more. All the things on this list are things I’ve personally used and can vouch for.

Benjamin and Chance get hyped for the just-announced Apple event, entitled ‘Let Loose’ set for May 7, in which we expect Apple to finally update the iPad hardware lineup. There’s also rumors that Apple is preparing to end FineWoven case production, and a weird curio that the iPhone 17 Plus screen may get slightly smaller. Elsewhere, AirPlay for hotels finally arrives and Apple is nearing a deal to exclusively stream the 2025 FIFA Club Word Cup.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance’s Mac broke. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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I was recently lucky enough to go on a great vacation where we spent eight days traveling across Europe. One of the things I noticed was just how helpful my iPhone was throughout this experience. Yes, we all know that we can use maps to help us navigate new cities and geographies. But did you know that you could convert currencies directly in the Notes or iMessage apps? Or that you could create a shared library so everyone on the trip can see all the pictures you took. I found over 25 iOS features that are specifically built into iOS to enhance and make your travels easier.

Satechi is out with its first CES announcements today. The new SM1 Slim Mechanical Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard for Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows, and more is available now. And coming soon Satechi has a foldable 3-in-1 and 2-in-1 Qi2 charger stand.

Update 4/25/24: The 3-in-1 Foldable Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand and the 2-in-1 Foldable Qi2 Wireless Stand are now available direct from Satechi priced at $129.99 and $79.99, respectively.

A new all-time low on Apple’s 16-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro is giving you another excuse to ditch the newer M3 model now that it’s $500 off. You can also save on some of our favorite iPhone 15 accessories, including Anker’s GaNPrime PowerCore 65W at $63 and the just-released ESR 15W Qi2 MagSafe Car Mount at $24 – both of which are new all-time lows. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

A curious email from Apple is making its way to iPhone Upgrade Program customers. The message is telling many who upgraded to an iPhone 15 last fall that their completed trade-in has been “canceled” and the paid-off loan will “resume.”

Verizon is out with an update for its Home Device Protect plan that repairs or replaces an unlimited number of devices from computers, game consoles, smart home devices, TVs, and now robot vacuums, healthcare devices, and more. The service also now covers a 2nd residence, 24/7 tech support, in-home expert visits, and more.

Yesterday we learned that Spotify decided to pass on Apple’s new EU terms that would allow it to use alternative payment methods due to the Core Technology Fee. Instead, it submitted an app update with pricing info and details on how to subscribe outside of the App Store without giving users a link. Now Spotify says Apple has unjustly blocked the update and again “defied the European Commission”.

Setting up a VPN on your Apple TV 4K allows you to avoid geographic region restrictions and access services not normally available to you. With tvOS 17, VPN apps can now be installed on the Apple TV directly.

VPN apps available now for Apple TV include NordVPN, PureVPN, IPVanish, ExpressVPN, and more. Here’s all the best VPN apps for Apple TV available now …

The Democratic Republic of Congo is accusing Apple of using illegally exploited minerals sourced in the eastern regions, involving violence, child labor and other human rights violations.

This allegation disagrees with Apple’s published Conflict Minerals Report, that states it found no connection between its smelters and refiner partners, and the armed groups of the DRC, as of December 31, 2023.

Meta has been experimenting with a lot of new features for Threads, its microblogging platform. Now Instagram boss Adam Mosseri revealed on Wednesday that the platform has started testing an option that will let users automatically hide old posts from Threads after a certain period of time.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by Roborock: Get a special deal on the S8 MaxV Ultra Robot Vac & S8 Max Ultra with free gifts for a limited time.

NAB, a camera and production-focused trade show, is one of the events I look forward to annually – this year was no different. NAB 2024 was chock full of new hardware and software releases that will affect large productions with pro cameras all the way down to small at-home productions with an iPhone serving as an A-cam.

In this hands-on video, I traverse the showroom floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center in search of some of the best of NAB 2024 from an Apple user’s perspective. I cover some exciting new updates to the amazing LumaFusion mobile video editing app, an exciting newcomer in Prismatic that promises to enhance production workflows, an update to the Blackmagic Camera app, Promise’s upcoming Thunderbolt 5 RAID enclosure, the Atomos Ninja Phone, and lots of new iPhone and iPad-centric hardware as well. Watch our hands-on, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos.

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.

Over the years, Apple has drastically improved its AutoFill feature for autofilling passwords, addresses, credit card information, and more. With iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, Apple has made another significant enhancement: the ability to use AutoFill anywhere in the operating systems.

We’re not far from the first official look at iOS 18 at WWDC 2024 on June 10. Whether you’d like to test out the new OS as soon as the dev beta is available or you’ll wait for the public beta or public launch, follow along for when to expect the iOS 18 release date.

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.

Apple is believed to be working on “the biggest overhaul yet” to the Apple Watch’s design. A new rumor today indicates that the next-generation Apple Watch could include a design change that frees up more space inside for other components – or that makes the device thinner.

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.

iMazing has been a go-to tool for Apple power users and IT admins for almost 20 years, now developer DigiDNA is out with iMazing 3. The major release sees a re-engineering of the whole app that brings a new UI and features, and even Vision Pro compatibility to join iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple TV support.