2025-12-03 07:30:27
OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic.
Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation, and model behavior like speed and reliability.
Google debuted Gemini 3 Pro in November, and it outperforms ChatGPT on several benchmarking tests. Google has been luring users with its Nano Banana AI image generator and Anthropic's Claude is popular with business customers.
OpenAI's plan to start showing customers ads leaked earlier this week, but Altman told employees that ads are now on the backburner. Work on advertising, shopping AI agents, and a more proactive and personalized version ChatGPT assistant called Pulse has been delayed. OpenAI has been testing several kinds of ads, including ads that would be shown during online shopping requests, but introducing ads could push users to other chatbots.
Following the employee memo, ChatGPT lead Nick Turley announced that OpenAI would focus on "making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world -- while making it feel even more intuitive and personal."
OpenAI is not profitable, and it has to rely on its user numbers for investments. If it loses a significant number of users to Google, it could run into financial trouble.
OpenAI will ship a new reasoning model next week, which Altman said is ahead of Gemini 3 in internal evaluations.
2025-12-03 06:33:17
Germany is evaluating Apple's proposed changes to address antitrust concerns over App Tracking Transparency (ATT), reports Reuters. Apple plans to tweak the text and formatting of the ATT consent prompt, while aiming to preserve the main privacy benefits of the feature.
Apple will add neutral consent prompts for its own services and for third-party apps, aligning the wording, content, and visual design of the messages. Apple also plans to simplify the consent process to make it easier for developers to get user permission for ad-related data processing.
Germany is asking for feedback from publishers, media groups, and regulators to determine if Apple's changes will address complaints about the limited amount of user data available to app publishers.
Earlier this year, Apple said that it might have to remove ATT from the EU. "Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers," Apple said.
Germany first launched a probe into App Tracking Transparency in 2022 after complaints from advertisers, and in February 2025, the German Federal Cartel Office preliminarily decided that Apple abused its market power, giving itself preferential treatment. According to German regulators, Apple's restrictions made it "far more difficult" for developers to access user data relevant for advertising.
Introduced in 2021, App Tracking Transparency lets iPhone and iPad users decide whether to allow apps to track their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. Users can choose to allow apps to ask for permission, or turn off tracking entirely.
ATT prevents apps from accessing the advertising identifier of Apple devices without express consumer permission, so apps can't track what users do and use that data for ad targeting. ATT has been unpopular with advertisers and data brokers, but Apple has pledged to work to convince Germany and other EU countries to allow it to continue to offer ATT to consumers.
2025-12-03 05:43:14
Apple is not going to be able to escape a class-action antitrust lawsuit over anticompetitive App Store fees in the Netherlands, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) said today. The decision could see Apple facing millions of euros in damages, and it sets a precedent for similar lawsuits in other European countries (via Reuters).
Apple could ultimately have to pay up to an estimated 637 million euros to address the damage suffered by 14 million iPhone and iPad users in the Netherlands.
The lawsuit dates back to 2022, when two Dutch consumer foundations (Right to Consumer Justice and App Store Claims) accused Apple of abusing its dominant market position and charging developers excessive fees. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dutch iPhone and iPad users, and it claimed that Apple's 30 percent commission inflated prices for apps and in-app purchases.
Apple argued that the Dutch court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the EU App Store is run from Ireland, and therefore the claims should be litigated in Ireland. Apple said that if the Dutch court was able to hear the case, it could lead to fragmentation with multiple similar cases across the EU, plus it argued that customers in the Netherlands could have downloaded apps while in other EU member states.
The District Court of Amsterdam ended up asking the CJEU if it had the jurisdiction to hear the case, and the CJEU said yes. The court decided that the App Store in question was designed for the Dutch market, and it offers Dutch apps for sale to people with an Apple ID associated with the Netherlands, giving Dutch courts jurisdiction.
Apple told Reuters that it disagrees with the court's ruling, and that it will continue to vigorously defend itself. The District Court of Amsterdam expects to hear the case toward the end of the first quarter of 2026.
The civil App Store fee case that Apple is now facing in the Netherlands is separate from the dating app case that was levied against Apple by ACM, the Dutch competition authority. That case involved regulatory action that led to new alternative purchase options for Dutch dating apps. Apple has also been fighting that antitrust case, and racked up fines of 50 million euros.
2025-12-03 04:38:34
Apple today released new firmware for the iPhone Air's MagSafe battery accessory. The firmware has a version number of 8B25, up from the prior 8A351 version. In the Settings app, the new firmware is listed as 99.0 while the prior firmware is 91.0.
This is the second firmware update that Apple has provided to iPhone Air users since the battery was released in September. Apple does not provide details on what's included in firmware updates for accessories, but the new firmware likely provides efficiency and performance updates.
Accessory firmware updates are done quietly without the user knowing about them, so Apple does not offer installation instructions. MagSafe Battery firmware should update when the battery is connected to the iPhone Air, but you can also force an update by connecting the battery pack to a Mac.
You can check the version number of the MagSafe Battery's firmware by attaching it to an iPhone Air, then going to Settings > General > About > iPhone Air MagSafe Battery.
The MagSafe Battery is exclusive to the iPhone Air, and it provides iPhone Air users with up to an additional 65 percent charge. The Battery Pack is thin and light because it actually incorporates the exact same battery that Apple used in the iPhone Air.
2025-12-03 04:27:34
Apple has announced it will be donating undisclosed amounts to relief efforts in Asia following separate disasters, including multiple building fires in Hong Kong and a series of severe storms and flooding across Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.
"Heartbroken by the devastating fire in Hong Kong," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a social media post last week. "Everyone affected is in our thoughts and we are thankful for the first responders. Apple is donating to relief efforts on the ground."
"Storms across Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka have devastated communities," said Cook, in another post today. "At Apple, we're thinking of everyone affected, and will be donating to relief and building efforts on the ground."
Apple has donated to the Red Cross for relief efforts in the past.
This article, "Apple Donating to Relief Efforts in Asia After Deadly Fire and Storms" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
2025-12-03 03:09:07
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18 updates front and center.
Starting today, that's changing. iOS 18 users who have not upgraded to iOS 26 will now see iOS 26.1 as the recommended iOS update in the Settings app. iOS 18 updates are still an option, but are now displayed at the bottom of the app.
Apple isn't forcing users to upgrade to iOS 26, but it is pushing the update more heavily than it was before in an effort to increase installation numbers. Some users may be hesitant to upgrade to iOS 26 because of the Liquid Glass design overhaul that makes major changes to the iPhone interface.
Allowing users to stay on the prior-generation version of iOS is an option that Apple has provided since iOS 15, but it doesn't last forever. Right now, Apple is providing iOS 18 security updates to those who choose to stay on that operating system, but that may stop in the coming months.
After pushing people to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the option more prominent, Apple will likely remove the option to stay on iOS 18, providing iOS 26 as the only upgrade available on devices that support the newer software. Eventually, customers who want to stay up to date on security fixes will need to transition to iOS 26, though Apple will continue to provide iOS 18 updates for devices that do not support iOS 26.
Apple hasn't released iOS 26 adoption numbers, so it is unclear how many people have decided to upgrade. Apple typically updates its iOS numbers several months after a new version of iOS launches, so we could get details in January or February.
Upgrading to iOS 26 from iOS 18 is irreversible, and Apple does not provide a way to downgrade back to the prior version of iOS.
(Thanks, Nicolás!)
This article, "Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
