On Thursday, Apple's updates to all of its operating systems included some new features — but more importantly, a severe security flaw that was actively being exploited was stopped in its tracks.Apple issues latest security patchesOn Thursday, Apple released iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, and tvOS 16.5. The primary new element is a brand new "Sports" tab in the Apple News app, along with new features for Siri and the Apple TV app. Read more...

Macworld It was decades ago when you could first pay for items online using a credit card; debit card payments followed. The security of such payments was often iffy in the commercial internet’s early years. Database breaches of unsecured information made for easy pickings. These days, a combination of factors has improved the safety of paying online. Firms offering online purchases of goods, services, and subscriptions are held to higher levels of compliance by the banks and processors that let them receive electronic payments. Companies like Stripe and PayPal, among many others, manage to receive card or other payment information directly, so those private and easily copied details are never stored, or even seen, by an e-commerce site. Apple Pay,…

The Dynamic Island is a potentially good idea that’s waiting for the next step Apple pulled off some unexpected surprises with the iPhone 14 Pro: there had been lots of solid rumors about the company switching from putting the front-facing camera and Face ID system in a pill-shaped cutout instead of the familiar notch, but the new “Dynamic Island” alert system came out of nowhere. And while it was getting clearer that Apple would have to follow the industry in using bigger camera sensors eventually, Apple went even further and rebooted its entire computational photography system as the Photonic Engine. There’s a lot of that sort of thing in the iPhone 14 Pro, whose prices in the United States still…

After nearly two months of leaks, the Beats Studio Buds + earphones are now official, with the audio brand from Apple revealing improved performance and some new color choices compared to the original Beats Studio Buds, including an eye-catching Transparent option. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Priced at $169.99, a $20 increase over the original model, the Beats Studio Buds + deliver improvements to fit, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency mode, microphones, battery life, and more. The most immediately obvious change for the Beats Studio Buds + is the overall look, with the new Transparent color option being the standout alongside a Black option with Gold accents and an Ivory option. The Transparent design is reminiscent…

Apple is set to rearrange the layout of the rear triple-lens camera system on the iPhone 15 Pro Max to accommodate the new periscope camera technology that will be exclusive to the larger handset. iPhone 14 Pro camera layout. Arrows indicate swapped lens positions on iPhone 15 Pro Max. This year, a periscope lens system will be used for the telephoto camera in the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the first time, allowing for 5x or 6x optical zoom. Comparatively, the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers 3x optical zoom, which is expected to be retained for the smaller iPhone 15 Pro. Apple is likely limiting the periscope technology to the iPhone 15 Pro Max because of the internal space needed…

Apple Savings is available for Apple Card holders, but many have encountered an error when trying to transfer money to and from their primary bank account. Here's what to do to get it fixed.Apple Savings provides a high yield 4.15% APYIf you've set up an Apple Savings account and can't transfer money directly to and from it with your primary bank, it can be an instantly frustrating experience. Thankfully, there's an easy, official fix and a temporary workaround. Read more...