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The iPhone Duo has more than 100,000 optimized apps, Apple says
Apple's iPhone Duo has been officially on sale for two weeks, and the company said today that the App Store now has over 100,000 apps that are built for the foldable.
"It's been wonderful to see how quickly developers have embraced iPhone Duo, and we're grateful for their creativity and innovation," Susan Prescott, Apple's VP of Worldwide Developer Relations, says in a statement. "Today there are well over 100,000 apps built for iPhone Duo already live on the App Store, and thousands of optimized apps are being added to the store each day." Prescott adds that "the enthusiasm has been incredible, and we're excited to see the pace of updates β¦
Apple has a secret list of banned autocomplete phrases including βdictator Trumpβ and βcovid is a hoaxβ
A researcher found over 100,000 words and phrases in "every major language" that are blocked from autocomplete and swipe-type in iOS, Reuters reports. The researcher, Derik Kauffman, says you can still type the words on the blocklist one letter at a time. But they won't pop up as predictive text suggestions and iOS's keyboard may automatically alter them when swipe-typing, like changing "left wing conspiracy" to "left wrong conspiracy."
Kauffman posted the full list online, including the individual lists for different languages.
Most of the words and phrases on the list are offensive, slurs, or related to topics like sex and drugs. But it β¦
Iβve reviewed almost every Android foldable this year β hereβs how the iPhone Duo compares
When I first read Allison and Nilay's Verge review of the iPhone Duo, I was immediately struck by one of their complaints: that the cover display is too small. That's not how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 feels, I thought. Had they got it wrong?
After a week and a half using the Duo, I know exactly what they mean - and it's not the screen's fault at all. Apps that feel comfortable on Samsung's short foldable and the similarly sized Xiaomi 18 Fold are often cramped and compact on the Duo's cover screen, robbed of screen space by a right-hand rail that most apps don't make use of anyway.
That's just one of the ways that Apple's first foldable β¦
The touchscreen MacBook Pro is a winner
I keep forgetting the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display has a touchscreen. I've been testing this new laptop, one of the most impressive Apple has ever created, for the better part of a week. I can't stop noticing some of its other features: the slimmer design, the improved display, the Dynamic Island that somehow catches my eye more than the notch ever did. But I keep forgetting that as I go about my day, I can now reach out and poke the screen.
Come to think of it, that might be exactly what Apple intended. Steve Jobs said touch laptops were a bad idea; some subset of users demanded one anyway. Now the MacBook Pro has one. But not in a β¦
The new iMac is a good desktop computer that needs a redesign
I'm a simple guy. I usually work from my MacBook Neo wherever I end up sitting in my house. And while I have monitors, mice, and keyboards to plug it into, I often end up leaning over the MacBook and doing none of that. I rarely even sit at my office desk, which has done wonders for my posture.
But over the past week, I've found myself returning to my desk more and more often to use Apple's latest iMac. With the iMac, I have a far bigger screen and solid built-in speakers that are much better than what I have on my laptop.
When The Verge last reviewed the iMac, we asked: "Who is this for, exactly?" It's still true that it's often cheaper a β¦
The M6 MacBook Pro is probably the last of its kind
On November 6th, Apple will release an all-new MacBook Pro. It's thinner and lighter and has a beautiful OLED touchscreen. It is very likely what every new MacBook Pro will look like in a couple of years.
The M6 MacBook Pro, which is also out on the 6th, is not that laptop. Instead, it's a straightforward chip bump of Apple's entry-level MacBook Pro, in basically the same chassis Apple's been using since 2021. Everything that was great about the M5 MacBook Pro last year, and the M4 the year before, still applies. The M6 MacBook Pro is still a great all-around computer, and a nice step up from the MacBook Air. Processor, screen, speakers, po β¦
Apple is reportedly cutting budgets for its internal AI usage
Apple will check shared iCloud links for βharmful contentβ
Apple will start checking iCloud items that are accessible to anyone who has the link for "harmful content" starting with iOS 27.3 and other 27.3 updates, the company says.
"When you share an item that can be accessed by Anyone with the Link in version 27.3 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS, that content is made accessible to Apple to check for harmful content," according to a support document reported on by 9to5Mac. Sharing something over iCloud with the "Anyone with the Link" permissions will also mean that it's no longer end-to-end encrypted.
Apple's support document does not define what "harmful content" is. But this new app β¦
I tried Appleβs Siri Recaps. Theyβre surprisingly useful β and a little unsettling
Hereβs what itβs like to use Audio Intelligence on the Apple Watch
It's impossible to paint a full picture of what Audio Intelligence on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will be right now. The watchOS 27.3 developer beta just dropped earlier this afternoon, and these features are meant to be lived with in day-to-day life. We're definitely going to do that over the next few weeks at The Verge. That said, here are some initial impressions.
What's newly available today is Live Rewind and Siri Recap. The former lets you see a transcript of the last 15 seconds, while the latter provides high-level summaries of your conversations. (The other two Audio Intelligence features have been available for the last f β¦
iPhone 18 rumors suggest a bigger battery, higher price next year
After Apple raised iPhone prices earlier this year, a new rumor claims it plans to launch the base iPhone 18 with a higher price, too. A Weibo post from leaker Digital Chat Station, spotted by 9to5Mac, says the base iPhone 18 is getting a couple of upgrades with the price hike, including a larger battery and a new 2-nanometer A20 chip. However, it reportedly won't have the smaller Dynamic Island featured on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
The base iPhone 18 wasn't included in Apple's fall iPhone launch event, but Digital Chat Station claims it will arrive early next year, in line with previous reports. It's rumored to launch alongside a seco β¦
Apple starts giving Siri AI access to third-party apps
Apple will now let Siri AI perform actions across third-party apps. As part of the iOS 27.3 update rolling out on Tuesday, Apple announced developers can now integrate Siri AI's new features in "all apps," allowing the voice assistant to draw on a user's personal context, process natural language prompts, and use on-screen awareness to complete requests.
The update, which is rolling out as part of a Developer Preview, also adds a new "app skills" feature that third-party developers can create to combine several tasks into a single action. In Apple's developer documentation, the company says users won't have to mention an app's name in their β¦
Appleβs latest watchOS beta includes its new always-on Audio Intelligence features
Starting today, Siri can tune into the Apple Watch's mic with Audio Intelligence features that are available in the new watchOS 27.3 developer beta rolling out now. The two new additions are Siri Recap, which uses "ambient listening" to generate summaries of your conversation, and Live Rewind, which generates text transcripts of the last 15 seconds of audio your watch's mic detected.
Apple is also releasing its redesigned Health app for testing today in the iOS 27.3 developer beta, and announced expanded language support in global English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turki β¦
Moftβs new origami case adds a kickstand and grip to the iPhone Duo
Originally released in early 2025 as an accessory for the iPad, Moft has redesigned its Dynamic Folio as a case for the iPhone Duo that does more than just protect Apple's folding phone. You can use it to prop the Duo up at several different angles for hands-free use, or reconfigure the Dynamic Folio's origami-like screen cover and use it as a finger grip while you're holding the phone.
The new Dynamic Folio Case for iPhone Duo is now available for preorder through Moft's online store for $89.99 in navy blue or misty cove plus sapphire color options, with shipping expected to start in mid December. That's a small bump in price over Moft's $ β¦
Apple restricts dating apps and AI companions to users 18 and up
Apple is all in on AI β its own and everyone elseβs
Apple's latest earnings show how it's continuing to capitalize on the AI boom without busting its budget on the infrastructure spending consuming its competitors.
Overall, Apple posted its best-ever fiscal year for revenue and earnings per share. iPhone and Mac sales continued to grow strongly in the fourth quarter. iPhone revenue rose 17.5% from a year earlier to a September quarter record of $57.6 billion while Mac revenue climbed 24% to $10.8 billion, its highest level in four years. Shares nevertheless fell in premarket trading Tuesday after Apple warned that rising memory costs would squeeze its profit margins in the holiday quarter.
β¦The 2026 iPad Mini is a terrific tiny tablet β for a big price
The iPad Mini sometimes feels like a trap. It is, in some ways and for some people, the perfect iPad: meaningfully larger than my phone's screen but still small and light enough to use for reading in bed or gaming on the subway. As most of the rest of the iPad line has tilted ever closer to laptop territory, the Mini might be the most iPad-y iPad left. I've taken a Mini everywhere with me since the very first one. But Apple only updates the Mini sporadically, and those updates sometimes feel like someone inside Apple Park picked its specs by closing their eyes and clicking randomly in an Excel sheet. The Mini is always a little underpowered, β¦
Apple is restricting dating apps and romanceable chatbots to over 18s
Apple will soon start asking developers to provide more details about their apps to enforce new App Store age rating requirements for dating and location-sharing features. The upcoming content descriptors announced on Monday will require developers to declare if their apps allow users to share their real-world location with others, or include features that enable dating, relationship, or sexual behaviour between real people or virtual companions.
Apps that include dating and relationships features will receive a minimum age rating of 18, while those with location sharing will see an impact to their minimum age rating in some regions, depend β¦