If you have a Mac and a cat, you've probably run into a situation where your cat sits on your computer keyboard. Whether it's because Macs are warm or because they want to distract you from the screen absorbing all of your attention, laptops tend to attract cats.
A new Mac app called Cats Lock adds cat-proofing that keeps your cat from doing damage to whatever you're working on when it gets on your keyboard, and it can even be set to shoo the cat off.
You can click to turn on Cats Lock from the menu bar or use a quick keyboard shortcut, and it prevents cats from being able to activate the keys. Cats can be particularly good at finding odd keyboard shortcuts you never knew existed and making changes that are annoying to undo, so Cats Lock is useful for preventing that. It also has an option to cut sound, so there's no more incessant beeping of keys when your cat gets on your keyboard and holds down a button.
Putting your Mac in sleep mode is an alternative, but you can also set Cats Lock to alert you or make a loud noise when your cat gets on the keyboard. Some of the built-in sounds like a barking dog, vacuum cleaner, or hissing cat might serve as a deterrent even when you're not around. You can also upload your own sounds.
Cats Lock stays on until your Mac goes to sleep, at which point it turns off so you're not locked out of your Mac because of the app.
The best Apple deals this week include AirPods Max 2 for $40 off, 2026 MacBook Pro for up to $216 off, and Apple Watch Series 11 for up to $130 off. You'll also find Anker's best charging accessories on sale on Amazon right now, including the new Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station.
Note: 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.
Anker
What's the deal? Save on Anker charging accessories
Anker's new Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station has been marked down to $104.99 on Amazon, down from $149.99. This is one of Anker's newest accessories, and Amazon's sale today is a match of the all-time low price.
Amazon this week has a record low price on the AirPods Max 2, now available for $509.00, down from $549.00. This sale is available in three colors of the headphones.
MacBook Pro
What's the deal? Take up to $249 off M5 Pro/M5 Max MacBook Pro
Amazon has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11 this week, with up to $130 off numerous models of the smartwatch. A highlight of the sale is the 46mm cellular model at $130 off, which is a match of the all-time 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.
Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!
OpenAI is adding a new personal finance feature to ChatGPT, letting people connect their financial accounts to the chatbot to get budgeting advice.
Through a partnership with Plaid, ChatGPT users can connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and other financial accounts to get advice. OpenAI says ChatGPT supports more than 12,000 financial institutions.
ChatGPT will provide a dashboard of how money is being spent, along with an up-to-date view of portfolio performance, spending, subscriptions, upcoming payments, and more. It will also let users ask finance-related questions, and OpenAI provided a sample of questions ChatGPT will be able to answer with access to a user's financial accounts.
Help me build a plan to buy a house in my area in the next 5 years
What did my recent vacation actually cost me?
I feel like I've been spending more recently. Has anything changed?
Can I afford to take a lower-paying job if it gives me more flexibility to be home with the kids?
What's the biggest risk in my portfolio?
Look at my subscriptions and help me choose what to cancel
OpenAI says that connecting financial accounts lets ChatGPT provide a more personal and complete finance guidance experience. ChatGPT will be able to see balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities, but it can't see full account numbers or make changes to accounts.
The new personal finance feature is available to Pro ChatGPT users located in the United States, and it works on iOS and the web. While integration is limited to Plaid right now, OpenAI is adding Intuit soon. Support for ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be added in the future after OpenAI improves it after feedback from Pro users.
A couple of years ago, I reviewed iVANKY's FusionDock Max 1, a powerful Mac dock utilizing dual Thunderbolt chips and dual-cable connectivity to drive 20 ports of various types for extreme versatility. Since that time, iVANKY has taken things further with the 23-port FusionDock Max 2 and now the 26-port FusionDock Ultra, and I've spent the past few weeks testing out the top-of-the-line FusionDock Ultra to see how it performs.
Similar to the FusionDock Max 1, the FusionDock Ultra features a dual Thunderbolt chip architecture that supports an impressive set of ports for power users. You'll find a huge array of USB ports, plus 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SD/TF card slots, and more.
The FusionDock Ultra offers an appealing and practical design, although the front of the dock is littered with ports. That's a positive for ease of access if you need to connect and disconnect things, but it results in a less clean look and can make it harder to keep cables out of sight. But with this many ports, it more or less requires using the full front and rear panels of the dock just to fit them all in, so it's an understandable compromise.
The main body of the dock appears to float within a larger enclosure, only sitting on a few small pegs within the extruded black aluminum exterior shell. This design offers visual appeal while also providing room for airflow and a hefty amount of aluminum for heat dissipation via the copper-alloy midframe. In my testing, I found the exterior shell to get a bit warm with use, but not uncomfortable to touch at any point.
On the front of the FusionDock Ultra, you'll find a whopping six 10 Gbps USB-C ports, an additional 10 Gbps USB-C port with Power Delivery support up to 45 watts, two 10 Gbps USB-A ports, a 3.5mm combo audio port, UHS-II SD and TF/microSD 4.0 card slots, and an LED power light that's bright enough to let you know it's on while remaining dim enough to not be a distraction, even in a dark room when your screens are sleeping.
The rear of the dock features more than a dozen additional ports, including a pair of Thunderbolt/USB-C ports for the upstream connection to the Mac, four downstream Thunderbolt/USB-C ports for displays with the ability to support up to 80 Gbps or even 120 Gbps of data connection, an HDMI 4K port, a DisplayPort 2.1 port, one additional 10 Gbps USB-C port, two 10 Gbps USB-A ports, a 10 Gb Ethernet port, an S/PDIF optical port, and separate 3.5mm audio in and out ports, plus a Kensington lock slot to help secure the dock if used in a public environment.
There are dual fans inside the dock to help move air for heat dissipation, and they are audible when they kick on in a quiet environment, but I have not found them to be distractingly loud. Adaptive fan control modulates the speed depending on the heat being generated, and they will turn off or run very quietly at low speed under light to moderate workloads before ramping up under more demanding conditions. iVANKY says the fans register at 44–46 dBA when measured at a 1 cm distance, and that sounds about right: audible but more of a low white noise in a quiet environment and becoming nearly unnoticeable in busier environments.
As mentioned, the FusionDock Ultra connects to a Mac over a double Thunderbolt cable, and iVANKY has a clever cable design to help keep things neat. The two Thunderbolt connectors at the Mac end of the cable attach to each other magnetically, creating what amounts to a single connector for machines such as the MacBook Pro that have standard horizontal spacing between Thunderbolt ports.
If you're using something like a Mac Studio or Mac mini with a different alignment of the ports, the cable connectors can be separated. iVANKY's solution also includes a pair of slidable clips to help keep the two cables together and organized.
Notably, the FusionDock Ultra can provide up to 140 watts of upstream power to a connected Mac over this Thunderbolt connection, delivering quick charging to even Apple's most power-hungry portable Macs. In order to drive all of this, the dock comes with a fairly large 240-watt external power brick, but most users shouldn't find it too hard to tuck it away on the floor or behind other equipment.
Turning to display connectivity, while the FusionDock Ultra can drive four 6K displays natively, support ultimately depends on the Mac you're connecting it to. For full quad-display support, you'll need to be using a Mac with a Max or Ultra flavor of chip, anywhere from M1 up to M5. The latest MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip supports up to three displays, as does the latest Mac mini with either the M4 or M4 Pro chip. Machines with most other chips can support two external displays, while some older base chips like the M1 or M2 in a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air can only support a single external display.
Simply put, go off Apple's published specs for your model to see how many external displays you can use, as iVANKY's dock won't supersede those limits by using tricks like DisplayLink compression. This ensures optimal performance without degraded image quality or lag.
Users of the LG UltraFine 5K or Samsung ViewFinity S9 5K displays should note that the FusionDock Ultra only supports up to two of these being connected simultaneously. Apple Studio Displays are fully supported up to the maximum number specified for your machine. Generally speaking, I've been regularly using the FusionDock Ultra with two external displays throughout my testing and had a brief opportunity to test it with four displays, and I've seen no hiccups in performance with everything working seamlessly through the dock.
10Gb Ethernet connectivity is a major selling point for power users, as most docks deliver Ethernet at lower speeds as they seek to balance demands on the overall connection bandwidth, but the FusionDock Ultra's dual-chip and dual-cable design gives it the headroom to support the higher data speed.
There aren't a whole lot of Intel Macs left at this point, but it's worth noting that the FusionDock Ultra is only compatible with Apple silicon Macs, so it won't work with Intel Macs or PCs.
All of this doesn't come cheaply, with the FusionDock Ultra normally priced at $749.99, although iVANKY is currently discounting it to $649.99 on the iVANKY website and at Amazon. But for power users looking to connect a boatload of accessories to their Macs with minimal fuss, the FusionDock Ultra is an excellent companion. And if your needs aren't quite as high as what the FusionDock Ultra supports, iVANKY also offers the FusionDock Max 2 currently discounted to $399.99 or the original FusionDock Max 1 on sale for $299.99.
Note: iVANKY provided MacRumors with the FusionDock Ultra for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. 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.
Lululook makes all kinds of accessories for Apple devices, and it has several Apple Watch charging options with different capabilities and price points. The $68 3-in-1 Charging Station is one of Lululook's newest options, and it supports the Qi2.2 specification for MagSafe charging speeds up to 25W.
With 25W charging, the Lululook Charging Station can charge an iPhone at the same speeds as Apple's 25W MagSafe chargers. Faster charging is available on the iPhone 17 models, the iPhone 16 Plus, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro charge at up to 22.5W, and the iPhone Air charges at up to 20W. Other models charge at 15W. Lululook's charger provides enough power to get an iPhone to 50 percent battery in 30 minutes.
There's also a pop-out Apple Watch charger and a charging platform for the AirPods, so you can charge up three devices at once. The Apple Watch charger is a fast charger, so you'll get maximum charging speeds on the Apple Watch Ultra models and standard Apple Watch models that support faster charging.
When not in use, the charger folds down into a slim square, making it ideal for travel. Lululook offers the 3-in-1 Charging Station in three colors to match Apple's iPhone 17 Pro lineup, including a bright orange. There are silicone pads on each charging area to keep devices scratch-free.
Strong magnets keep the iPhone in place while it is charging, and the hinged design lets it be positioned at appropriate angles for watching videos or gaming. It supports an iPhone in either landscape or portrait mode, and it is powered with USB-C. It comes with a 45W power adapter, a 3.2-foot USB-C cable, and a portable organizer for keeping everything together when on the go.
For those who don't need fast charging and want to spend less money, Lululook also has a Qi2 3-in-1 Charging Station that's available for $35. Qi2 charging is limited to 15W, and that's the main difference compared to the Qi2.2 charger that Lululook offers.
The chargers otherwise have a similar design, and the Qi2 Charging Station features a platform for charging the iPhone, a pop-out Apple Watch charger, and a Qi charging pad at the base for the AirPods. It comes in black or gray, and when not in use, it folds into a square.
The charger can be used upright or laid flat on a desktop if preferred. It ships with a 30W power adapter, USB-C cable, and travel case.
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The contest will run from today (May 15) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 22. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after May 22 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time.
AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who sign up for an Apple Card will effectively get free AirPods Pro through this promotion.
Apple Card cash back is known as Daily Cash, so customers would receive the $249 cash back on the same day as they sign up for the card.
As a refresher, the Apple Card launched in 2019, and it remains available in the U.S. only. The credit card can be managed in the iPhone's Wallet app, with color-coded spending summaries. The card has no annual fee, and it offers 2% to 3% cash back on purchases via Apple Pay and 1% back on purchases with the physical card.
Apple Card holders can also open a high-yield savings account.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro has been named the fastest-charging phone overall in a new CNET lab test covering 33 smartphones, with Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra taking the top spot for wired charging speed.
To determine the rankings, CNET's lab team ran each phone through a 30-minute wired charging test starting at 10% battery or less, using the phone's included cable and a wall charger rated at or above the device's maximum supported speed. Phones that support wireless charging went through a matching 30-minute wireless test using a Qi (7.5W), Qi2 (15W), or Qi2.2 (25W) charger matched to the phone's peak supported speed. CNET then averaged the wired and wireless results into an overall charging score.
The iPhone 17 Pro's win in the overall category is partly a function of its relatively compact 4,252mAh battery, which is smaller than the 5,000mAh or larger capacities common among competing flagships. With less capacity to fill, the 17 Pro charges faster in absolute terms, and it supports both 40-watt wired charging and 25-watt Qi2.2 wireless charging. CNET notes that battery size is just one factor in overall battery life, alongside processor and software efficiency, and in its battery life testing, the iPhone 17 Pro Max came out on top for endurance.
For wired charging, Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra took the top spot, adding 76% charge in 30 minutes via its 60-watt wired charging speed, the fastest of any Samsung flagship to date. The iPhone 17 Pro came in second at 74%, tied with Motorola's Moto G Stylus (2025). The OnePlus 15 followed with 72%, while the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and Samsung Galaxy S25 FE each reached 69%.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro also claimed the fastest wireless charging result, gaining 55% in 30 minutes. The iPhone 17 Pro Max added 53%, followed by the iPhone 17 at 49%, the iPhone Air at 47%, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra at 39%. CNET again attributes the 17 Pro's edge over the 17 Pro Max largely to its smaller battery, since both devices share the same A19 Pro chip and software.
Across all brands tested, Apple had the most consistent fast-charging performance by a considerable margin, averaging 54.6% across the four iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air. Samsung's nine-phone average came in at 38.5%, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra as its strongest performer and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as its weakest at 29%.
Silicon-carbon batteries, which use a silicon-based anode rather than graphite to enable higher capacities and faster charge rates, appeared among several of the top performers. The OnePlus 15, for example, recharged 72% of its 7,300mAh silicon-carbon battery in 30 minutes using a proprietary 80-watt charger. Silicon-carbon phones in the U.S. remain limited to OnePlus, RedMagic, and Poco. Apple, Samsung, and Google have not yet adopted the technology.
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Google's latest wave of announcements for Android and Gemini, the newly announced Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12 rumors.
The centerpiece of Google's announcements this week was Gemini Intelligence, Google's new umbrella platform for AI across phones, watches, cars, and laptops. Its headline capability is cross-app automation: users can photograph an event flyer and ask Gemini to find tickets on Expedia, or pull up a grocery list and have it build a cart in a shopping app. A companion feature called Create My Widget lets users describe a home screen widget in natural language and have Gemini generate it, drawing from Gmail and Calendar to build a personalized dashboard.
Google also unveiled the Googlebook, a new laptop category designed from the ground up around Gemini with partners including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo arriving this fall. Gemini in Chrome for Android gained an agentic browsing layer rolling out end of June, and Android Auto received AI-generated contextual replies and DoorDash voice ordering. A Meta partnership brings Ultra HDR, native stabilization, and night mode to Instagram on Android flagship devices.
In January, Apple and Google announced a partnership under which Gemini would power the next generation of Apple Foundation Models, including a more personalized Siri expected this year. Apple's equivalent cross-app Siri actions were announced at WWDC 2024 but have not yet shipped; Gemini Intelligence is rolling out this summer using the same underlying technology.
Google also unveiled the Fitbit Air this week, a screenless fitness tracker priced at $99 that ships on May 26. The device weighs just 12 grams with the band and tracks heart rate, AFib, HRV, SpO2, and sleep stages in a small pill-shaped design with no display, no buttons, and no notifications. Battery life lasts for seven days, with a five-minute fast charge delivering a full day of use. A Stephen Curry Special Edition is priced at $129, with core tracking free and Google Health Premium adding an AI Coach for $9.99 per month after a three-month trial.
The launch accompanies a broader rebrand. The Fitbit app becomes Google Health on May 19, with Google Fit folded in, Apple Health data supported on iOS, and APIs for Garmin, Whoop, and Oura. Bloomberg's Mark Gurmanreported earlier this year that Apple has scaled back a comparable Health+ coaching service, with the feature now unlikely to launch. The Apple Watch SE starts at $249 and requires daily charging, and the Fitbit Air's $99 price with no mandatory subscription addresses a segment Apple does not cover.
We also discuss the Apple Watch Series 12, which is shaping up to be an incremental upgrade. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in March that he does not expect any major design changes, and a significant redesign is now not expected until 2028.
The leaker known as "Instant Digital" said this week that Touch ID, which appeared in leaked Apple code last year, has been deprioritized in favor of battery life improvements. DigiTimes previously reported on an eight-sensor array on the back of at least one 2026 model, though blood pressure monitoring is said to be further out. A new chip is expected, with leaked code indicating a meaningful upgrade from the S10 used across the last three series. watchOS 27 will be previewed at WWDC on June 8.
If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about how the global memory shortage is forcing Apple's hand across multiple key products, killing configurations, delaying launches, and prompting spec decisions that would have seemed unlikely a year ago.
The MacRumors Show is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also email us at podcast@macrumors.com or head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.
Deals on the 2026 MacBook Pros have been popular over the past few weeks, but the focus has been on the 14-inch M5 Pro models. Today, Amazon has opened up massive discounts on the 16-inch M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro, with $249 off every model.
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.
With these markdowns, every model of the 2026 16-inch MacBook Pro has hit a new all-time low price on Amazon, and each deal is available in both Silver and Space Black. Prices start at $2,449.99 for the 24GB/1TB M5 Pro model, down from $2,699.00.
You can also still get up to $216 off the 14-inch MacBook Pro this week on Amazon. The best deal is the 24GB/1TB M5 Pro model for $1,983.94, down from $2,199.00.
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 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!
Apple has slashed prices on the iPhone 17 Pro series in China by 1,000 yuan (around $138) in anticipation of the annual 618 shopping festival, one of the country's largest mid-year online retail events.
The cuts went live on Friday on JD.com and Tmall, with Apple's official store on the latter platform applying a direct 1,000-yuan discount on the iPhone 17 Pro series. On JD.com, taking into consideration trade-in offers and platform promotions, some iPhone 17 Pro models can be picked up for as low as 6,999 yuan (around $968). That's the lowest price since the device's launch, according to the Global Times.
The standard iPhone 17 also received its first notable markdown. Some configurations are now available for 4,499 yuan (around $622) including discounts, bringing it well under the 6,000-yuan threshold for China's national trade-in subsidy, which knocks 15% off qualifying devices up to a 500-yuan cap – something that customers of the Pro models miss out on.
News of Apple's price cuts quickly shot to the top of social media platform Weibo's trending list on Friday. Meanwhile, Huawei has also introduced lower prices for its high-end foldable models for the first time.
"Apple and Huawei are the two companies most closely benchmarked against each other in the high-end segment," said Liu Dingding, a technology industry analyst speaking to the Global Times. "Other brands still hold market share, but in terms of premium-market influence, the rivalry is increasingly centered on these two players."
Liu said both companies are using this year's shopping festival window to quickly lift orders and shipments while competing for a larger share of replacement demand.
Apple's iPhone 17 series has been a runaway hit in China so far. Apple reported $26 billion in Chinese revenue during its fiscal first quarter, a 38 percent year-over-year increase and the company's best-ever performance in the region. China now accounts for roughly one-fifth of Apple's total global sales.
The results are a major turnaround after nearly three years of declining sales in the country, where Apple has faced stiff competition from domestic rivals like Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently on his way back home from China, following his participation in an official U.S. business delegation accompanying President Donald Trump as he met with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Apple Watch is now eleven generations in, and packed with useful features that are easy to miss at first glance. To help you get more out of your device, we've rounded up 15 practical tips you might not have discovered yet, including a few that long-time users often overlook.
Bounce Between Two Apps
On your Apple Watch, double-press the Digital Crown to see a deck of all currently open apps, and turn it to scroll through them. From this view, you can jump back to the last app you were using. Simply tap on an app screen to switch to it, or swipe left on its card and tap the red X button to quit it.
Switch App Views
If the app grid feels messy, switch to List View. Open the Watch app on iPhone, tap App View, and choose List View. From then on, pressing the Digital Crown will show your apps in a simple, scrollable list.
Rearrange Apps
You can rearrange your apps so that the ones you use most are closer to hand. Simply press and hold on any app in the grid view, then drag it where you want. Alternatively, open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to App View ➝ Arrangement, and move things around there instead.
Ping Your iPhone
If you've misplaced your iPhone but you're sure it's nearby, open Control Center with a press of the Side button, then tap the phone icon to make it ping. Press and hold that icon and the iPhone's camera flash will blink too, which can help if it's hidden under something.
Skip the Countdown
If you're eager to start a workout, the three-second countdown before it starts can be skipped. Just tap the screen when the countdown begins and your workout will start immediately. If you find yourself doing this regularly, consider turning on Precision Start in Settings ➝ Workout.
Customize Vibration Strength
If you keep missing notifications, go to Settings ➝ Sounds & Haptics ➝ and change from Default to Prominent. This adds an extra tap pattern before alerts so they're harder to ignore.
Perform Precision Timing
The Chronograph Pro watch face transforms into an actual chronograph. Tap the outer edge surrounding the main 12-hour dial on this watch face to record time on scales of 60, 30, 6, or 3 seconds. Alternatively, select the tachymeter timescale to measure speed based on time travel over a fixed distance.
Jump to the Top
If you've scrolled way down in an app and want to jump back to the top, just tap the time in the top corner of the screen. It works in most apps and saves a lot of scrolling.
Remove Apps
Clearing out apps you don't use on your Apple Watch is easy. In the List or Grid View, press and hold on the screen until the apps jiggle, then tap the small x in the corner of the app icon to delete it. This works for most system apps and all third-party apps.
Customize Control Center
By default, Control Center (accessed via the Side button) gives you quick access to things like Wi-Fi, battery, and Do Not Disturb. But it's worth seeing what else you can add to it that you'd like quick access to. Tap the Edit button at the bottom, then tap the + icon in the top-left corner of the screen. System options such as New Note and Lights are particularly handy, and you might see some third-party options listed too, depending on your installed apps.
Speak the Time Out Loud
If you're using the Mickey or Minnie watch face, tap on the character and they'll speak the time out loud. Just make sure your sound is turned on. In fact, you can also have Siri read the time on any watch face by tapping and holding with two fingers on the display. Again though, sound needs to be enabled.
Customize Smart Replies
Smart Replies are handy when you want to reply with just a few words. In the Watch app on iPhone, go to Messages and tap Default Replies to customise what shows up. Then when a message comes in, simply swipe down to pick one of your preset replies.
Pause Activity Rings
Feeling unwell but hoping to keep your streak intact? In the Activity app, select your rings to access the option to suspend them for the day, or set a pause that lasts until a chosen date up to 90 days ahead.
Create a Note
In the new Notes app in watchOS 26, you can't modify existing notes on Apple Watch, but you can create a new one by tapping the compose control in the bottom-right corner and speaking your text. Because Notes sync through iCloud, you can refine or reorganize everything later on a device with a physical or on-screen keyboard.
Mute and Dismiss Alerts
With a quick wrist flip, you can clear the current screen and go back to the watch face. The same gesture can be used to mute calls, stop timers, and dismiss notifications. The feature, which is on by default, is supported on Apple Watch SE (3rd generation), Series 9, Ultra 2, and later.
OpenAI has brought its Codex coding agent to the ChatGPT mobile app, providing iPhone and Android users with remote access to Codex sessions running on a Mac.
"Codex is now in the ChatGPT mobile app so you can stay in the loop from anywhere while Codex gets work done across your laptops, devboxes, or remote environments," said OpenAI, announcing the feature.
Codex remains a standalone app on Mac, but the mobile integration lives inside the existing ChatGPT app on iPhone and Android. Setup is pretty simple. First, update the Codex Mac app and ChatGPT mobile app, then select the new "Codex mobile" section in the Mac app interface. Scan the QR code it shows with your phone, and you're done.
Once connected, the mobile app loads the live state from the Mac where Codex is running, and you can pick up active chats or projects from the desktop, get notifications when Codex finishes a task or needs input, and begin new tasks by sending a message from your phone.
From the ChatGPT app, users can also review outputs, approve commands, switch between models, and add new prompts across active threads. Files, credentials, and permissions stay on the machine where Codex is operating, while screenshots, terminal output, diffs, test results, and approval requests flow back to the phone in real time.
OpenAI notes that Codex will access the desktop's files, apps, and browser to complete tasks sent from a phone, and warns users to only pair devices they own and trust.
You've been asking for this one...
Now in preview: Codex in the ChatGPT mobile app.
Start new work, review outputs, steer execution, and approve next steps, all from the ChatGPT mobile app. Codex will keep running on your laptop, Mac mini, or devbox. pic.twitter.com/9i2Jckjt9z
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 14, 2026
The feature follows OpenAI's recent launch of a Codex Chrome extension, which lets the agent work directly in the browser to test web apps and pull context across tabs.
OpenAI says support for remotely accessing Codex for Windows will follow soon.
Rumors suggest Apple plans to expand Apple-designed modems to the entire iPhone 18 lineup, ending support for Qualcomm modems. The transition will bring speed and efficiency improvements, along with a little-known privacy benefit.
In iOS 26.3, Apple added a Limit Precise Location setting that cuts down on the amount of location data that's available to mobile networks, improving user privacy.
Mobile networks determine your location using information from cellular towers that a device connects to, but with Limit Precise Location enabled, some of the data typically provided to mobile networks is restricted. Instead of seeing location down to a street address, carriers may be limited to the neighborhood where a device is located.
The problem is that this feature is currently only available on devices with an Apple-designed C1 or C1X modem, which includes the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e, and M5 iPad Pro. Devices with Qualcomm modems like the iPhone 17 Pro models do not have the Limit Precise Location setting.
With the iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone Fold expected to use Apple modem technology, this is likely a privacy option that is set to expand to the full iPhone lineup.
Reducing location precision does not impact signal quality or user experience, nor does it affect the precision of location data provided to emergency responders during an emergency call. It is only meant to limit the location data given to cellular carriers, and it is distinct from location data shared with apps through Location Services.
While Apple's next set of iPhones will all likely have the new privacy feature, carriers do have to implement support. So far there are a limited number of carriers that have added the feature, but if it expands to the entire iPhone lineup and there is customer demand, it could see more widespread adoption.
In the United States, only Boost Mobile supports limiting precise location data, but EE, BT, and Sky all support it in the UK, while carriers in Austria, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Thailand have also adopted support and all of these carriers have the setting turned on by default. Users on a physical SIM or eSIM from any carrier in the EU or UK can also manually turn the setting on. A full list of supported carriers and regions is available on Apple's website.
The C2 modem that Apple is rumored to be working on is more capable than the C1 or C1X, and it will offer similar performance to Qualcomm's newest modems. It is expected to support mmWave 5G, which is not a feature of the C1 or C1X.
Apple's iPad that's just an iPad with no Air or Pro attached is its most appealing tablet because of the affordable starting $349 price tag, but if you've been thinking about buying one, you should wait.
Apple refreshed the iPad in March 2025, so it's over a year old. That's reason enough not to buy when there's a new model on the horizon, but this year, there's even more to lose by purchasing now.
The 2025 iPad has an A16 chip inside that does not support Apple Intelligence. It does not have features like Writing Tools, Image Playground, Clean Up, Live Translation, notification summaries, Smart Reply, Priority Messages in Mail, Visual Intelligence, and multiple other AI-related tools.
Apple Intelligence is still new so it might not sound like a big deal to miss out on those capabilities, but not having access to it is going to become more of a problem as Apple continues implementing new AI features.
Rumors suggest there are big changes coming in iOS 27. Siri is going to get smarter and turn into a full chatbot, the Camera app is going to get Visual Intelligence integration, the Photos app will have AI image editing tools, Shortcuts may be more automated, and there are probably features coming that haven't even been rumored yet.
The A16 iPad will likely feel outdated in the next year or two because of the feature set it won't have access to.
The next iPad is likely to get the A18 chip, and the A18 does support Apple Intelligence. It will have faster performance, more RAM, and most importantly, future-proofing and access to the AI features that Apple is investing in.
Holding out for the next iPad will take some patience, because right now, we don't know when it's coming. Updating the iPad alongside the low-cost iPhone 17e would have made sense, but that didn't happen. A new entry-level iPad isn't coming in the first half of 2026, so we're likely going to be waiting until September or October.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in March that an updated low-cost iPad is "ready to go" and "still coming this year." Even though the wait may be several months, we think it's worth holding out for the next iPad instead of buying now because of the upgrade that comes with Apple Intelligence support.
TSMC has been the exclusive supplier of Apple's systems-on-a-chip since 2016, but that 10-year streak could be nearing its end.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said that Intel has "kicked off" small-scale testing of lower-end iPhone, iPad, and Mac chip fabrication, with production expected to ramp up throughout 2027 and 2028. Kuo did not indicate exactly which of Apple's A-series and/or M-series chips would be manufactured by Intel.
Apple is utilizing Intel's 18A process for these chips, and it is evaluating Intel's other advanced-node technologies, according to Kuo.
By sourcing chips from two suppliers, Apple can negotiate lower costs and bolster supply. In this case, Apple rekindling a partnership with Intel could win it favor with the Trump administration, which wants more U.S. manufacturing. However, Kuo said Taiwan's TSMC will remain responsible for more than 90% of Apple's chip supply.
There is no indication that Intel would play a role in designing the iPhone chips, with its involvement expected to be strictly limited to fabrication. That would differ from the era of Intel Macs, which used Intel-designed processors with x86 architecture. Apple began transitioning away from Intel processors in Macs in 2020.
All in all, these would be Apple-designed chips manufactured by Intel in the U.S., for use in some lower-end iPhone, iPad, and Mac models.
Apple's potential return to Intel has been reported by numerous sources by this point, but an official announcement has still yet to be made.
Last year, accessory maker Nimble came out with the Wally Stretch power adapters, and they've become some of my favorite charging options.
The Wally Stretch is available in 35W and 65W options, and it has an excellent design. It's a simple cube with prongs that fold down, a retractable USB-C cable, and an extra USB-C port. The 65W model that I tested is thicker than the comparable 70W Apple charger, but it's smaller in length and width.
Nimble's charger is just about two inches all around, and it looks like a block. While Nimble sells the 35W charger in black and the 65W charger in white, Apple offers 65W Wally Stretch in better colors. It comes in teal with a yellow accent and a gold-topped cable, along with deep purple with a pink accent and a silver-topped cable. I'm a big fan of any charger that's not your standard black or white, and I use the Wally Stretch chargers with my desktop power strip.
The retractable USB-C cable measures in at two feet, which is a great length for desktop use. It's also worked well for traveling between locations, and two feet seems to be an all-around useful length. Some people prefer much longer cables, and there aren't options with the Wally, which is a downside. There is, however, an extra USB-C port at the bottom where a longer cable can be plugged in if desired.
65W is enough for me to power even a 16-inch MacBook Pro when it's not under heavy load, and it's more than sufficient for my MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and iPhone. Even when charging two of the latter three devices at the same time, I get fast charging.
A retractable cable paired with an extra USB-C port all in a small package makes the Wally Stretch one of my most flexible power adapters. I would pick it over a standard Apple charger in all situations, and over many third-party chargers. The only situation where I reach for something else is when I need more than two ports or higher watts, but that doesn't happen too often. I think the only thing that would make the Wally Stretch better is an XL version with two retractable cables and 140W.
Nimble also makes power banks that I like a lot, again because they come in colors other than your standard black or white. The Nimble 10k Champ Portable Charger I tested is teal with yellow accents, and it has some design elements I've found useful.
It's small, and it tucks nicely into a pocket or a bag. It has a lanyard, which is a feature that I find surprisingly useful for a power bank. I can always track it down in my backpack, and I can put it around my wrist when I'm charging my iPhone with a short cable. I wouldn't have thought a lanyard would make a difference, but I have a decent selection of power banks, and I always pick the ones with the lanyard first when I need one.
The Nimble Champ is 3.4 inches long, 2.3 inches wide, and under an inch thick, plus it's lightweight at six ounces. There's a yellow button on the front that can be pressed to see remaining power level, which is reflected via four LED dots. That's standard for power banks, and it's fine. Some power banks have a little LED display that shows exact level, and I do prefer the more exact readout, but it's not a make-or-break feature.
There are two USB-C ports for charging an iOS device or for charging the power bank, and while it does come with an included USB-C cable, I wish it was a color-matched cable instead of a plain cable. A power bank designed to stand out with a bright color should have a cable that goes along with it, but I do understand the plain cable choice because it keeps costs lower. Nimble's power bank is $60, which makes it reasonably priced.
I have an Anker Nano power bank with a lanyard and a retractable cable and it is the one that I love the most. Nimble Champ is my second pick, just because I like integrated cables that don't require me to hunt down a cable and that don't result in excess cable I don't need. Nimble does actually have an updated version with a retractable cable and an exact readout of charging capacity, but it's more expensive at $80.
This is a 10K power bank, so it has enough power to charge an iPhone 17 Pro Max from 0 to 100 and then some, but it is limited to 20W fast charging. Apple's iPhone 17 models charge to 50 percent in 20 minutes with a 40W adapter, so you're not going to get maximum charging speeds with the Nimble Champ. I probably wouldn't choose the Nimble Champ in a situation where you need to optimize for the fastest possible charging for an iPhone 17, but it's great if charging that's a bit slower isn't an issue.
Bottom Line
Nimble's Wally is a useful power adapter for everything from the Mac to the iPhone, and the retractable cable is super convenient. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a power adapter for desktop or travel use.
The Nimble Champ is a budget-friendly power bank that's brightly colored and slim enough to carry in a pocket. It's a good pick as long as you don't need the fastest USB-C charging.
OpenAI is preparing to potentially take legal action against Apple due to a "strained" relationship with the iPhone maker, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The two companies reached a partnership in 2024 that saw ChatGPT integrated into features like Siri and Image Playground across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. iPhone users can also subscribe to ChatGPT directly via the Settings app, with Apple taking a cut of revenue. Ultimately, though, the report said OpenAI expected ChatGPT to be more deeply integrated across additional Apple apps and to have more prime placement within Siri.
OpenAI executives also believe that Apple has not sufficiently advertised the integration, resulting in fewer customers knowing about it.
OpenAI initially believed the deal could generate billions of dollars per year in subscription revenue, but that "hasn't come close to happening." This expectation was seemingly set by Apple, which reportedly characterized the agreement as being an opportunity on par with its multi-billion-dollar deal with Google for search in Safari.
Apple's culture of secrecy is said to have resulted in OpenAI not knowing exactly how ChatGPT would be integrated on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
"They basically said, 'OpenAI needs to take a leap of faith and trust us,'" an unnamed OpenAI executive told Bloomberg. They described the deal as a "failure."
"We have done everything from a product perspective," the executive said. "They have not, and worse, they haven't even made an honest effort."
Siri users must use the word "ChatGPT" when speaking or typing a command in order to get results from OpenAI's chatbot. ChatGPT responses shown within the Siri interface also contain limited information compared to the ChatGPT app.
OpenAI's attempts at renegotiating the deal have apparently stalled.
As a result of the shortcomings, OpenAI is considering taking legal action against Apple, according to the report. OpenAI is said to be weighing a range of options, including sending Apple a letter alleging breach of contract, without necessarily filing a full lawsuit. However, OpenAI still hopes to resolve the issues outside of court.
iOS 27 is expected to tap into other chatbots like Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, but this is apparently not one of OpenAI's grievances, as its partnership with Apple was never meant to be exclusive. In fact, iOS 27's rumored Siri app with an "Extensions" feature for other chatbots actually might better promote ChatGPT.
For now, though, it appears that OpenAI feels it received the short end of the stick.
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack.
Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay.
ChatGPT
Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based conversational apps. This means that chatbots can extend their iPhone apps to CarPlay for voice-based conversations, and OpenAI's ChatGPT is one of the first options available.
With the ChatGPT app on CarPlay, you can have voice conversations with ChatGPT while the app is open, and view the titles of your past conversations. For safety reasons, the app does not show the text or images within conversations.
Other chatbots that recently came to CarPlay include Perplexity and Grok.
Google Meet
Google Meet is now available on CarPlay as well, allowing you to join meetings with a single tap, view your upcoming schedule, and participate in audio calls. For safety reasons, you cannot view video calls on the CarPlay interface.
WhatsApp
A revamped WhatsApp app for CarPlay is now available.
WhatsApp already supported CarPlay, but the original app provided limited Siri-based functionality. The revamped app displays lists of recent chats and phone calls, and there is also a tab that displays a list of your favorite contacts.
Audiomack
Audiomack recently expanded to CarPlay. The 8th-most downloaded app in the App Store's Music category in the U.S. lets you stream and download songs, with a focus on independent artists and especially the Afrobeats and hip-hop genres.
Audiomack's CarPlay app has Discover, Charts, Playlists, and My Library tabs, allowing you to listen to your existing songs and discover new ones.
