Apple Insider

• Indonesia's long iPhone 16 ban may end soon

  The now almost four month-long ban on sales of the iPhone 16 in Indonesia may be lifted "very, very soon," according to a government minister.
  
  

  
  iPhone 16 Pro models

  
  Indonesia banned sales of the iPhone 16 in October 2024, just weeks after it was launched. It was because of the country's laws about locally-sourced components, and also because Apple had fallen short on its investment commitments.
  
  According to Bloomberg, the long negotiation between Apple and the country may be about to be resolved. There are no specific details of any deal with Apple, and the company has not commented, but a local minister has said the conclusion is in sight.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• How to use Clean Up in iOS 18 Photos to remove distractions

  Apple's new Clean Up tool is a great use of Apple Intelligence that can enhance your photos without excessive editing. Here's how it works.
  
  

  
  The new Clean Up tool comes to the Photos app

  
  Clean Up is part of Apple Intelligence as, unlike with some repair tools, it uses generative AI. The AI analyzes the photo to do its best to fill in or remove the selected area.
  
  We have found it to be one of the most useful Apple Intelligence features in our testing so far.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Marvel Snap is back online in the US after outage caused by the TikTok ban

  Marvel Snap is once again available to users in the United States, following the aftermath of the TikTok ban and the actions against ByteDance, but it still isn't on Apple's App Store.
  
  

  
  Marvel Snap is back online, but still not on the App Store in the US.

  
  Marvel Snap is a relatively popular digital card-collecting game. The game's publisher is Nuverse, a subsidiary of none other than ByteDance — the same company that owns the controversial social media platform TikTok, CapCut, and other applications.
  
  On January 19, 2025, the United States government enacted a blanket ban against all ByteDance applications, including both TikTok and Marvel Snap. As a result, the apps were no longer available to users in the United States, and they were both removed from the US App Store on iOS.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Apple Maps still calls it the Gulf of Mexico, and politicians are upset

  President Trump signed an executive order demanding that many landmarks change their names, including the Gulf of Mexico, but Apple Maps hasn't changed. Here's why it isn't quite that simple.
  
  

  
  The Gulf of Mexico remains in Apple Maps

  
  Maps are a funny thing. For a long time, we studied global geography using a map designed in 1569, but it inaccurately shows North America and Europe as much larger than they should be.
  
  Nearly five hundred years later, we've started adapting more recent models that accurately show continent size. I bring this up simply because maps are complicated and changing the ones we rely on can take a lot of time and effort.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Netflix is getting another price hike to kick off 2025

  In a likely attempt to satisfy current shareholders and deal with increased content production and licensing costs, Netflix is increasing pricing for most of its plans, worldwide.
  
  

  
  Netflix is increasing prices for subscriptions in 2025.

  
  Users can expect to pay even more for their Netflix subscriptions in 2025, as Netflix has raised prices across the board. Virtually every Netflix plan, from the low-cost ad-supported subscription option to the premium plan, will see a substantial increase in pricing. The change applies to multiple countries, as well, directly impacting a large number of consumers.
  
  The company's cheapest ad-supported plan will increase to $7.99 per month, up from the previous $6.99. The standard ad-free plan, meanwhile, will go from a monthly price of $15.49 to $17.99. The price of the premium tier will be a whole $2 higher — $24.99, instead of the usual $22.99.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Best Amazon deals on Apple: $23 AirTag, up to $250 off MacBooks, $300 off iPad Pro

  Amazon is ramping up its deals on Apple this week, with fresh price drops on AirPods, AirTags, MacBooks and more. We've rounded up the best offers to save you money in 2025.
  
  

  
  Save up to $300 on Apple devices at Amazon - Image credit: Apple, Amazon.

  
  A single AirTag is down to $22.99 at Amazon this Tuesday, along with a steep discount on an upgraded 14-inch MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage and the 14C CPU/20C GPU M4 Pro chip.
  
  We're following the deals (and dozens more) in our Apple Price Guide, with top offers from the sale handpicked by our team and broken down by category below.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• iOS 18.3 RC introduces new Visual Intelligence features & notification summaries changes

  The iPhone 16 range will receive support for two Visual Intelligence features with the iOS 18.3 update, while Apple Intelligence's notification summaries are getting much needed changes.
  
  

  
  The iOS 18.3 release candidate includes support for two Visual Intelligence features on iPhone 16.

  
  On Tuesday, Apple deployed release candidate versions of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Though the update is compatible with devices as old as the iPhone XR and iPhone XS, Tuesday's release candidate primarily affects the iPhone 16 line and its unique Visual Intelligence features.
  
  More general Apple Intelligence changes and fixes are also present in the update. Primarily, Apple has changed how notification summaries work after several problems with how the feature dealt with news headlines.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Apple seeds release candidates of iOS 18.3, macOS 15.3

  Marking a fairly short round of developer betas, Apple has issued the first release candidates of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, watchOS 11.3, and macOS 15.3, alongside other builds.
  
  

  
  Examples of Apple Intelligence at work.

  
  On Tuesday, Apple issued what has become the first release candidates for the current developer beta generation. The first RC editions of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, macOS 15.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, and watchOS 11.3 were all offered for testing.
  
  There were also RC releases for older operating systems too. iPadOS 17.7.4 was made available in RC, as well as macOS 14.7.3. Apple often introduces builds for older operating systems, which often consists of compatibility updates and security patches.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• 'Severance' may have made $200 million, but Apple doesn't have to care

  A sketchy report claims to have calculated the precise income Apple TV+ has made from key shows like "Severance," but the figure appear to be guesses that ignore how the company's business model is different to all other streamers.
  
  

  
  "Severance" — image credit: Apple

  
  "Severance" is unquestionably a much-talked about hit for Apple TV+, but aside from a Blu-ray release, the only income it can provide Apple is from the number of subscribers it attracts to the streamer. Apple has yet to release any subscriber numbers at all, but according to Deadline, one company is saying it has calculated the financial value of Apple TV+ shows.
  
  Research firm Parrot Analytics has not made its full report public, and shares no details of what it calls its Content Valuation methodology. Unlike any other streamer, though, the only revenue stream for Apple TV+ is subscription.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

• Apple won't return TikTok to the App Store until it's sold to a U.S. buyer

  Despite President Trump's temporary stay on the federal TikTok ban, it's extremely unlikely that the video-sharing app will return to the App Store anytime soon. Here's why.
  
  

  
  TikTok's status in the U.S. remains complicated

  
  On January 19, the U.S. government enacted a blanket ban against ByteDance apps, owners of popular apps such as TikTok, Marvel Snap, and CapCut. A day later, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days.
  
  And yet, despite that, TikTok — or any app developed by ByteDance Ltd — has yet to reappear on the App Store or the Google Play store. And, according to a new Apple support page, it appears as if it's going to stay that way.
  
  
  Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums