Apple has announced that 15 new games will join the Apple Arcade collection in December and January.

Here are the games available on December 5:

• Talking Tom Blast Park
• Boggle: Arcade Edition
• PAC-MAN 256+
• Hot Wheels: Race Off+
• Barbie Color Creations+ (not available in Russia)
• Little Cities: Diorama (Vision Pro)

On December 9, the subscription will add FF IV: THE AFTER YEARS+ and FINAL FANTASY IV (3D REMAKE)+, both developed by Square Enix.

The following games will be available on January 9:

• Skate City: New York
• Gears & Goo (Vision Pro)
• Three Kingdoms HEROES
• FINAL FANTASY+
• Trials of Mana+
• Rodeo Stampede+
• It’s Literally Just Mowing+

A lot of exciting new releases are coming. Now is the perfect time to add some of them to your wishlist.

Apple has introduced a new warranty repair program for the iPhone 14 Plus, addressing a known rear camera issue affecting a small percentage of devices. This issue, which may cause the rear camera to fail in preview mode, affects iPhone 14 Plus units manufactured between April 10, 2023, and April 28, 2024.

Free iPhone 14 Plus Camera Repair Under Warranty
If your iPhone 14 Plus has this camera problem and qualifies for the program, Apple will provide a complimentary warranty repair. This program covers eligible iPhone 14 Plus devices for a full 3 years.

Refunds for Previous iPhone 14 Plus Camera Repairs
If you paid for a rear camera repair on an eligible device, you may be entitled to a refund. To request reimbursement, contact Apple directly if this issue impacted your iPhone 14 Plus.

How to Get Free Camera Repair Service for iPhone 14 Plus
You can visit any Apple Authorized Service Center or Apple Store for warranty service. To check if your iPhone 14 Plus qualifies for this camera repair program, please visit Apple’s official website.

Apple is set to introduce its own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip in the upcoming iPhone 17.

Currently, iPhones rely on a Broadcom chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions. However, Apple plans to transition nearly all its devices to in-house chips within the next three years.

These new chips will support the latest Wi-Fi 7 specifications, though analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has yet to disclose specific technical details. Notably, the iPhone 16 introduced limited Wi-Fi 7 support, which is expected to be fully enhanced in the iPhone 17.

Key Points:

• Apple’s proprietary Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip for iPhone 17
• Transition from Broadcom to in-house chips within three years
• Full Wi-Fi 7 support expected

As of today, Apple has discontinued all Mac models that had a minimum of 8 GB of RAM. Now, the standard is 16 GB or more.

This change follows the announcement of the new MacBook Pro M4 and updates to the MacBook Air with M2/M3. For the latter models, prices remain the same, but the base RAM has been increased.

Apple has released watchOS 11.1, tvOS 18.1, and visionOS 2.1.

In watchOS 11.1, a bug has been fixed that could cause issues with recording respiratory irregularities in the Health app.

To update Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone → General → Software Update.

tvOS 18.1 and visionOS 2.1 don’t include noticeable changes, but minor bugs have been fixed and performance improved.

To install tvOS 18, go to Apple TV settings → System → Software Updates → Update Software.

You can install visionOS 2 via Settings → General → Software Update.

In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s Vice President Craig Federighi explained why the company is in no rush to release new Apple Intelligence features.

He stated that this is a deliberate approach the company takes toward development:

‘This is a big step. You can release something and make it somewhat messy. Apple’s perspective is more like: “Let’s try to get each part right and release it when it’s ready.”’

Apple’s approach differs from others because Apple Intelligence mostly works locally, while competitors rely heavily on cloud computing, where user data is sent.

Federighi noted that chatbots like ChatGPT can be asked any question, such as how quantum mechanics works, but you can’t ask them to open your garage door or send a text message. Sooner or later, this integration will happen, but it’s not there yet.

Craig believes that the development of AI technologies will take years, if not a decade. Apple plans to approach this field with maximum responsibility and won’t rush to implement ‘half-baked’ features.”

Apple employees anonymously reported to Bloomberg about the company’s current state of AI development.

Internal research at Apple shows that ChatGPT provides responses that are 25% more accurate than Siri and can answer at least 30% more questions. Some Apple employees also believe that the company’s generative AI is at least two years behind the industry.

Integration with ChatGPT is expected to narrow the gap with Siri, and it is anticipated to be included in iOS 18.2.

By 2026, Apple Intelligence will operate on all Apple devices with a screen. The iPhone SE 4, featuring the A18 chip, is set to launch in March 2025, with an updated base model iPad to follow later that year.

Apple has patented a projector that displays volumetric images. No helmet is needed to see them.
Apple has registered a new patent related to AR projectors.

The system developed by the company allows projecting AR/VR images onto various surfaces in augmented reality format. The key feature is that you don’t need a special headset, like a helmet, to see them. You will see everything as a regular projection, like in a movie.

“The high-resolution LED projector of the augmented reality system can be used to project 2D augmented reality or virtual reality (VR) content, viewed by a person in a room with the augmented reality system (for example, an augmented reality headset and/or glasses), onto a surface (such as a table or floor) in the room so that other people in the room can see what the person using the augmented reality system sees.” — excerpt from the company’s patent

Apple says that its technology could be incorporated into a form factor resembling a light bulb. It could even be integrated into a standard light bulb socket.

Visible light or infrared cameras can be used to enable the projector to determine the size, shape, and textures of the room.

For now, this is just a patent, and it’s unclear whether Apple will use it for its future products. It’s possible that the development could be integrated into future versions of Vision Pro or as a separate device for smart homes

iFixit specialists disassembled the Apple Watch Series 10.

They reported that the internal structure of Apple’s thinnest watch has slightly changed. However, to remove the display, it still needs to be heated.

The components are so well assembled that the gap between the glass and metal is only 0.176 mm, which helps improve the device’s water resistance. Moreover, the antennas in the Cellular models are now integrated into the body structure.

The 46 mm version has a battery with a capacity of 1.266 Wh, which is comparable to the previous generation. Unlike the iPhone, the internal battery of the Apple Watch is attached with simple adhesive, which can be easily removed.

Access to other components requires removing a large number of small connectors and tiny screws.

An interesting point: Apple claims to have a new OLED display in the Apple Watch. However, iFixit’s observations revealed that the screen structure is almost identical to previous models. The sensors of the Apple Watch are located under all other components, making them quite difficult to replace.

Although iFixit praised the work done to reduce the size of the case, the specialists still rated the new device 3 out of 10 on the repairability scale. This gadget is still difficult to repair.

Apple has patented a guest mode feature for the iPhone.

According to the description, the device owner will be able to restrict access to files and apps before handing the smartphone to other users. These users, in turn, will not be able to affect the owner’s data in any way.

The patent states that access can be granted to another user after they are authorized in some way. This is an additional security measure to ensure that not just anyone can use the guest mode.

The iPhone owner will always be able to change guest access settings from another of their devices.

Of course, this is just a patent, and there’s no guarantee that Apple will implement it. But it looks quite promising.