2025-04-02 04:50:09
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs.
Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while Mastercard is aiming to retain its position. Apple apparently plans to choose a new Apple Card network before it selects a partner to replace Goldman Sachs as the Apple Card's issuing bank, and competition is intense. Visa is offering Apple a $100 million upfront payment, while American Express is "in the mix" and Mastercard is "fiercely trying" to retain its role.
Apple and Goldman Sachs have been working to dissolve their partnership since 2023, with Goldman Sachs planning to exit the consumer banking market. JPMorgan Chase and Synchrony Financial are in talks with Apple to take over for Goldman Sachs, but American Express has also been aiming to become the issuer and network of the Apple Card. Apple needs both an issuing bank for the Apple Card and a payment network that facilitates transactions.
Goldman Sachs and Apple have worked together on the Apple Card since its 2019 launch, and have also teamed up for the high-yield Apple Savings account. Apple has not been happy with Goldman Sachs because of customer service issues caused by long wait times for disputed Apple Card transactions and savings account withdrawals.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau even launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs due to the customer complaints, which led to tension, so both companies are eager to end their relationship.
The Apple Card has over 12 million users in the United States, with approximately $20 billion in balances.
2025-04-02 01:34:15
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2.
watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery and it needs to be placed on a charger.
With watchOS 11.4, Apple has added an option for a Sleep Wake Up alarm to break through Silent Mode, so you can have your Apple Watch make a sound in addition to haptic tapping when a morning alarm goes off. There's also support for Matter-compatible robot vacuum cleaners in the Home app.
This update includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Matter-compatible robot vacuum cleaners can be added to the Home app as well as used in scenes, automations, or simply say "Siri, clean the living room."
- An option to allow Sleep Wake Up alarm to break through Silent Mode
- An issue where face selection may become unresponsive when switching faces
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/100100
2025-04-02 01:24:49
Amazon today has all-time low prices on the new M4 MacBook Air, with up to $60 off the 13-inch and 15-inch versions of the computer. Right now these discounts are only available on Amazon, and most of them have estimated delivery windows of early April.
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This time around, there is one 13-inch configuration on sale and one 15-inch configuration on sale, reaching up to $60 off the original price. You can get the 256GB 13-inch M4 MacBook Air for $949.00, down from $999.00, and the 256GB 15-inch M4 MacBook Air for $1,139.00, down from $1,199.00. Both of these deals are available in two colors on Amazon.
2025-04-01 23:15:00
Apple has now refreshed the Mac Studio twice since its introduction in 2022, so should you upgrade your unit and is an older model still worth buying?
The new Mac Studio's main upgrade is its chip, moving from the M2 Max and M2 Ultra to the M4 Max and M3 Ultra. Compared to its predecessor, the new Mac Studio is up to 75% faster with 2x faster graphics. It also now features up to 512GB of memory of 16GB of storage, as well as Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
See the breakdown below for each new feature, change, and improvement that was added with the latest Mac Studio compared to its predecessors:
Mac Studio (2022) | Mac Studio (2023) | Mac Studio (2025) |
---|---|---|
Apple M1 Max or M1 Ultra chip | Apple M2 Max or M2 Ultra chip | Apple M4 Max or M3 Ultra chip |
M1 Max: 10-core CPU (8 performance cores, 2 efficiency cores)
M1 Ultra: 20-core CPU (16 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores) |
M2 Max: 12-core CPU (8 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores)
M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU (16 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores) |
M4 Max: Up to 16-core CPU (12 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores)
M3 Ultra: Up to 32-core CPU (24 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores) |
M1 Max: Up to 32-core GPU
M1 Ultra: Up to 64-core GPU |
M2 Max: Up to 38-core GPU
M2 Ultra: Up to 76-core GPU |
M4 Max: Up to 40-core GPU
M3 Ultra: Up to 80-core GPU |
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | ||
AV1 decode | ||
M1 Max: 16-core Neural Engine (11 TOPS)
M1 Ultra: 32-core Neural Engine (22 TOPS) |
M2 Max: 16-core Neural Engine (15.8 TOPS)
M2 Ultra: 32-core Neural Engine (31.6 TOPS) |
M4 Max: 16-core Neural Engine (38 TOPS)
M3 Ultra: 32-core Neural Engine (76 TOPS) |
M1 Max: Video decode engine
M1 Ultra: Two video decode engines |
M2 Max: Video decode engine
M2 Ultra: Two video decode engines |
M4 Max: Video decode engine
M3 Ultra: Two video decode engines |
M1 Max: Two video encode engines
M1 Ultra: Four video encode engines |
M2 Max: Two video encode engines
M2 Ultra: Four video encode engines |
M4 Max: Two video encode engines
M3 Ultra: Four video encode engines |
M1 Max: Two ProRes encode and decode engines
M1 Ultra: Four ProRes encode and decode engines |
M2 Max: Two ProRes encode and decode engines
M2 Ultra: Four ProRes encode and decode engines |
M4 Max: Two ProRes encode and decode engines
M3 Ultra: Four ProRes encode and decode engines |
M1 Max: 32GB or 64GB memory
M1 Ultra: 64GB or 128GB memory |
M2 Max: 32GB, 64GB, or 96GB memory
M2 Ultra: 64GB, 128GB, or 192GB memory |
M4 Max: 36GB, 48GB, 64GB, 128GB memory
M3 Ultra: 96GB, 256GB, or 512GB memory |
M1 Max: 400GB/s memory bandwidth
M1 Ultra: 800GB/s memory bandwidth |
M2 Max: 400GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Ultra: 800GB/s memory bandwidth |
M4 Max: Up to 546GB/s memory bandwidth
M3 Ultra: 819GB/s memory bandwidth |
512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage |
M2 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage
M2 Ultra: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage |
M4 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage
M3 Ultra: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB, or 16TB SSD storage |
M1 Max: Four Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB-C ports
M1 Ultra: Six Thunderbolt 4 ports |
M2 Max: Four Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB-C ports
M2 Ultra: Six Thunderbolt 4 ports |
M4 Max: Four Thunderbolt 5 ports and two USB-C ports
M3 Ultra: Six Thunderbolt 5 ports |
HDMI 2.0 port | HDMI 2.1 port | HDMI 2.1 port |
Support for up to four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K display | Support for up to eight 4K displays, six 6K displays, or three 8K displays | Support for up to eight 4K displays, eight 6K displays or four 8K displays |
3.5mm headphone jack | 3.5mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones | 3.5mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones |
802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 | 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6E | 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6E |
Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
Released March 2022 | Released June 2023 | Released March 2025 |
2025-04-01 19:47:29
The popular iOS game emulator Delta has received a major update that adds online multiplayer functionality for Nintendo DS games. Version 1.7 of the app now allows players to compete against each other in classic DS titles like Mario Kart DS, Bomberman, and Animal Crossing.
Nintendo officially shut down the original DS online services back in 2014, so Delta relies on alternative Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection servers maintained by the community. The way it works is very straightforward – simply select your preferred server within the emulator settings. No complex DNS or network configuration is required. A list of supported games can be found on Wikipedia.
Beyond online multiplayer, version 1.7 also introduces several other notable improvements. Nintendo 64 emulation has been enhanced, with new options to upscale resolution and use custom texture packs for improved visuals. A quick screenshot feature has also been added, alongside various bug fixes and performance optimizations.
Delta is regarded as one of the most polished game emulators available on iOS, supporting multiple Nintendo platforms including NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. The app offers robust controller support, save states, cheats, game backups, and cloud syncing.
For players looking to try these new features, Delta 1.7 is currently available through AltStore PAL for users in the European Union, with a global App Store release expected soon. The emulator remains free to download.
This article, "Delta Emulator Gains Online Multiplayer for Nintendo DS Games" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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2025-04-01 18:56:12
In iOS 18.2, Apple introduced a major change to iPhone's Mail app with a new Categories feature, which has now been rolled out to iPad and Mac with iPadOS 18.4 and macOS Sequoia 15.4. Categories automatically sorts your emails into four distinct sections: Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. However, while this organizational system aims to help manage email overload, not everyone will prefer the new layout.
Mail Categories attempts to intelligently organize your incoming emails into different sections. Important emails are shown in a "Primary" category, with orders, newsletters, social notifications, and deals organized into three other sections.
The "Transactions" section includes receipts, orders, and deliveries, and aims to make it easy to find orders that you've placed and shipping information for those orders. Meanwhile, the "Updates" section includes newsletters, alerts for things like doctor's appointments and correspondence, and other subscription emails. Lastly, Apple's "Promotions" category includes special offers and deal emails.
Note that even if an email would normally fall into Transactions, Updates, or Promotions, it will also appear in your Primary inbox if it contains time-critical information. On devices that support Apple Intelligence, the system goes a step further by highlighting priority emails that require action or have deadlines.