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06 Aug 2025
Apple Still Investigating Cellular MacBook as Microsoft Ships Surface 5G - MacRumors
The Surface Laptop 5G is part of Microsoft's Copilot+ PC lineup aimed at business customers, featuring a 13.8-inch display and Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processors. Microsoft says it has six "strategically placed antennas" that allow it to automatically adjust signal paths and power based on usage. The device includes both Nano SIM and eSIM options, and can also function as a hotspot for other devices.
Starting at $1,700, Microsoft says it will begin shipping its first 5G-enabled Surface laptop on August 26 with support for over 100 carriers worldwide – though its small print notes that 5G will be available "later in 2025."
The Surface Laptop's 5G capabilities come as Apple has begun deploying its custom-built C1 modem chip in some devices. The company introduced a sub-6GHz version of its 5G modem in the iPhone 16e earlier this year and is expected to include it in the upcoming iPhone 17 "Air," which will be unveiled next month.
According to a December report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is "investigating" the possibility of adding a second-generation C2 modem to a future Mac as early as 2026. According to Gurman, Apple's next-generation C2 modem will support faster mmWave technology and is expected to arrive in 2026, debuting in Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models – with inclusion in a Mac potentially shortly after.
Apple has played with the idea of a cellular MacBook for years now. Back in 2007, the company developed MacBook Pro prototypes with integrated 3G connectivity, including a SIM card slot and an extendable cellular antenna along the right side of the lid. Despite these early experiments, Apple never released a MacBook with built-in cellular capabilities. Here's hoping 2026 will be the year it happens.Tags: C1, Microsoft Surface
This article, "Apple Still Investigating Cellular MacBook as Microsoft Ships Surface 5G" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Still Investigating Cellular MacBook as Microsoft Ships Surface 5G - MacRumors
The Surface Laptop 5G is part of Microsoft's Copilot+ PC lineup aimed at business customers, featuring a 13.8-inch display and Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processors. Microsoft says it has six "strategically placed antennas" that allow it to automatically adjust signal paths and power based on usage. The device includes both Nano SIM and eSIM options, and can also function as a hotspot for other devices.
Starting at $1,700, Microsoft says it will begin shipping its first 5G-enabled Surface laptop on August 26 with support for over 100 carriers worldwide – though its small print notes that 5G will be available "later in 2025."
The Surface Laptop's 5G capabilities come as Apple has begun deploying its custom-built C1 modem chip in some devices. The company introduced a sub-6GHz version of its 5G modem in the iPhone 16e earlier this year and is expected to include it in the upcoming iPhone 17 "Air," which will be unveiled next month.
According to a December report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is "investigating" the possibility of adding a second-generation C2 modem to a future Mac as early as 2026. According to Gurman, Apple's next-generation C2 modem will support faster mmWave technology and is expected to arrive in 2026, debuting in Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models – with inclusion in a Mac potentially shortly after.
Apple has played with the idea of a cellular MacBook for years now. Back in 2007, the company developed MacBook Pro prototypes with integrated 3G connectivity, including a SIM card slot and an extendable cellular antenna along the right side of the lid. Despite these early experiments, Apple never released a MacBook with built-in cellular capabilities. Here's hoping 2026 will be the year it happens.Tags: C1, Microsoft Surface
This article, "Apple Still Investigating Cellular MacBook as Microsoft Ships Surface 5G" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Steam Client to Require macOS 12+ Starting October 15 - MacRumors
The reason Steam will soon stop working on Big Sur is due to the client's reliance on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older macOS versions. Future Steam updates will also require security features only available in macOS 12 and above.
Apple also discontinued security updates for Big Sur in 2023, and that's left legacy systems vulnerable to malware that could compromise Steam accounts and game performance. Valve is strongly recommending affected Mac users upgrade before the October deadline.
The announcement comes amid Steam's transition to a native Apple silicon client following Apple's stated plan to phase out Rosetta 2. Valve released the first native beta shortly after WWDC in June, signalling its dedication to continue to support Mac gaming. Testers have generally reported dramatically faster launch times and smoother navigation through the Store and Library.
Not that if you're still running Big Sur, you won't be able to launch Steam or any purchased games after the cutoff date. Tag: Steam
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Steam Client to Require macOS 12+ Starting October 15 - MacRumors
The reason Steam will soon stop working on Big Sur is due to the client's reliance on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older macOS versions. Future Steam updates will also require security features only available in macOS 12 and above.
Apple also discontinued security updates for Big Sur in 2023, and that's left legacy systems vulnerable to malware that could compromise Steam accounts and game performance. Valve is strongly recommending affected Mac users upgrade before the October deadline.
The announcement comes amid Steam's transition to a native Apple silicon client following Apple's stated plan to phase out Rosetta 2. Valve released the first native beta shortly after WWDC in June, signalling its dedication to continue to support Mac gaming. Testers have generally reported dramatically faster launch times and smoother navigation through the Store and Library.
Not that if you're still running Big Sur, you won't be able to launch Steam or any purchased games after the cutoff date. Tag: Steam
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iOS 26: Get a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call - MacRumors
Set a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call
When iOS 26 launches this fall (or if you're already on the beta), you'll be able to create callback reminders in the following way:
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the Calls tab, then scroll down to Recents.
- Swipe left across a missed call, then tap the blue clock icon.
- Choose one of the following: Remind Me in 1 hour, Remind Me Tonight, Remind Me Tomorrow, Remind Me Later...
That's all there is to it. If you choose Remind Me Later..., you'll see a New Reminder interface where you can customize the reminder's time and date, and also choose which Reminders list it should be added to. The callback reminder will appear in your Reminders app with the contact's name, phone number, and any notes you added.
Managing Call Reminders
All call reminders appear automatically in the Reminders app. You can view, edit, or mark these reminders as complete just like any other reminder. To quickly call someone back from a reminder notification, simply tap the alert and then tap the phone icon in the reminder details.
Note that iOS 26 is currently in beta testing and will be released this fall alongside Apple's new iPhone 17 models, and the exact interface and options may vary slightly in the final release.
This article, "iOS 26: Get a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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iOS 26: Get a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call - MacRumors
Set a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call
When iOS 26 launches this fall (or if you're already on the beta), you'll be able to create callback reminders in the following way:
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the Calls tab, then scroll down to Recents.
- Swipe left across a missed call, then tap the blue clock icon.
- Choose one of the following: Remind Me in 1 hour, Remind Me Tonight, Remind Me Tomorrow, Remind Me Later...
That's all there is to it. If you choose Remind Me Later..., you'll see a New Reminder interface where you can customize the reminder's time and date, and also choose which Reminders list it should be added to. The callback reminder will appear in your Reminders app with the contact's name, phone number, and any notes you added.
Managing Call Reminders
All call reminders appear automatically in the Reminders app. You can view, edit, or mark these reminders as complete just like any other reminder. To quickly call someone back from a reminder notification, simply tap the alert and then tap the phone icon in the reminder details.
Note that iOS 26 is currently in beta testing and will be released this fall alongside Apple's new iPhone 17 models, and the exact interface and options may vary slightly in the final release.
This article, "iOS 26: Get a Callback Reminder for a Missed Call" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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iPhone 17, i prezzi saranno aumentati? Possibile stangata per gli acquirenti - TheAppleLounge
iPhone 17, i prezzi saranno aumentati? Possibile stangata per gli acquirenti - TheAppleLounge
Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.5 - MacRumors
"Signing" is a server-side verification check that Apple does when a new version of iOS is downloaded on an iPhone. An update can't be downloaded and installed unless it passes the verification check, and the unsigning process prevents customers from installing outdated versions of iOS that are less secure.
Apple usually stops signing older software about a week after releasing an update, and doing so ensures that customers have the latest security improvements and are not vulnerable to known attacks.
iOS 18.6 was focused on security updates, and it addressed more than 20 vulnerabilities.
This article, "Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.5" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.5 - MacRumors
"Signing" is a server-side verification check that Apple does when a new version of iOS is downloaded on an iPhone. An update can't be downloaded and installed unless it passes the verification check, and the unsigning process prevents customers from installing outdated versions of iOS that are less secure.
Apple usually stops signing older software about a week after releasing an update, and doing so ensures that customers have the latest security improvements and are not vulnerable to known attacks.
iOS 18.6 was focused on security updates, and it addressed more than 20 vulnerabilities.
This article, "Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.5" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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05 Aug 2025
Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 5 - MacRumors
Camera
Apple added a toggle in the Camera app to allow users to toggle on Classic Mode, a setting that reverses the scroll direction when you swap from mode to mode.
There is now a dedicated Select button in the Mail app, instead of the button being tucked away inside of the "..." menu.
AirDrop Icon
There is a new AirDrop icon in the Share Sheet.
Lock Screen
There is an animation when entering your passcode on the Lock Screen, with the numbers jumping in to place. There's also a new animation when locking the iPhone when playing music.
iOS 26 beta 5 adds a new animation to the passcode screen pic.twitter.com/ZO54DZokA9
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 5, 2025Control Center
There's a new bouncy animation when swiping through Control Center pages.
iOS 26 beta 5 tweaks Control Center's animation pic.twitter.com/lf33mimNIW
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 5, 2025Control Center Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi button in Control Center now shows whether a Wi-Fi network is private or public when long pressing on the Wi-Fi icon. If a Wi-Fi network is password protected, it has a lock next to the Wi-Fi symbol.
Traveling Features
Apple is adding a predictive Siri feature that can determine when you are about to travel, showing suggestions for cellular connectivity while you are out of your home country.
Wallet
In the Wallet app, the "Payments" button for Apple Card is now labeled "Preauthorized Payments" to make it more clear what the button is for.
Splash Screens
There are iOS 26 Splash Screens for more apps, giving people a preview of what's new.
Battery
There is a Dynamic Island low battery warning when the battery hits 20 percent on an iPhone.
Dock
The Liquid Glass surrounding the Home Screen dock is wider
Fitness
There is a new icon for Fitness+ in the Fitness app.
Read More
We have additional info on all of the new features in iOS 26 in our roundup.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26
This article, "Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 5" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 5 - MacRumors
Camera
Apple added a toggle in the Camera app to allow users to toggle on Classic Mode, a setting that reverses the scroll direction when you swap from mode to mode.
There is now a dedicated Select button in the Mail app, instead of the button being tucked away inside of the "..." menu.
AirDrop Icon
There is a new AirDrop icon in the Share Sheet.
Lock Screen
There is an animation when entering your passcode on the Lock Screen, with the numbers jumping in to place. There's also a new animation when locking the iPhone when playing music.
iOS 26 beta 5 adds a new animation to the passcode screen pic.twitter.com/ZO54DZokA9
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 5, 2025Control Center
There's a new bouncy animation when swiping through Control Center pages.
iOS 26 beta 5 tweaks Control Center's animation pic.twitter.com/lf33mimNIW
— Aaron (@aaronp613) August 5, 2025Control Center Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi button in Control Center now shows whether a Wi-Fi network is private or public when long pressing on the Wi-Fi icon. If a Wi-Fi network is password protected, it has a lock next to the Wi-Fi symbol.
Traveling Features
Apple is adding a predictive Siri feature that can determine when you are about to travel, showing suggestions for cellular connectivity while you are out of your home country.
Wallet
In the Wallet app, the "Payments" button for Apple Card is now labeled "Preauthorized Payments" to make it more clear what the button is for.
Splash Screens
There are iOS 26 Splash Screens for more apps, giving people a preview of what's new.
Battery
There is a Dynamic Island low battery warning when the battery hits 20 percent on an iPhone.
Dock
The Liquid Glass surrounding the Home Screen dock is wider
Fitness
There is a new icon for Fitness+ in the Fitness app.
Read More
We have additional info on all of the new features in iOS 26 in our roundup.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26
This article, "Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 5" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Seeds macOS Sequoia 15.7 Release Candidate to Developers - MacRumors
Developers can opt-in to the macOS Sequoia beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app.
According to Apple's release notes, the update includes security fixes.This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.Given the rapid escalation to release candidate status, macOS Sequoia 15.7 likely addresses a critical security bug. We'll likely see it released in the next few days.
This article, "Apple Seeds macOS Sequoia 15.7 Release Candidate to Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Seeds macOS Sequoia 15.7 Release Candidate to Developers - MacRumors
Developers can opt-in to the macOS Sequoia beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app.
According to Apple's release notes, the update includes security fixes.This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.Given the rapid escalation to release candidate status, macOS Sequoia 15.7 likely addresses a critical security bug. We'll likely see it released in the next few days.
This article, "Apple Seeds macOS Sequoia 15.7 Release Candidate to Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Macintosh HD Gets a New Look in Latest macOS Tahoe Beta - MacRumors
The existing icon still resembled a hard disk drive, but the new icon looks like a modern solid state drive. Apple's Macs stopped using hard disk drives starting more than a decade ago. The low-cost 21.5-inch iMac was the last Mac that had a hard drive component, as it used Apple's SSD + HDD Fusion Drive. All current Macs use SSDs.
If you don't want to see the new icon, you can hide Macintosh HD from view entirely. To do so, open up the Finder app's settings and click the check mark next to "Hard disks."
Apple also updated Disk Utility and the Finder icon in earlier betas. With the Finder icon, Apple initially reversed the color scheme with the light shade on the left and the dark on the right, but the uproar was so significant that Apple had to return it to the classic color arrangement.
This article, "Macintosh HD Gets a New Look in Latest macOS Tahoe Beta" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Macintosh HD Gets a New Look in Latest macOS Tahoe Beta - MacRumors
The existing icon still resembled a hard disk drive, but the new icon looks like a modern solid state drive. Apple's Macs stopped using hard disk drives starting more than a decade ago. The low-cost 21.5-inch iMac was the last Mac that had a hard drive component, as it used Apple's SSD + HDD Fusion Drive. All current Macs use SSDs.
If you don't want to see the new icon, you can hide Macintosh HD from view entirely. To do so, open up the Finder app's settings and click the check mark next to "Hard disks."
Apple also updated Disk Utility and the Finder icon in earlier betas. With the Finder icon, Apple initially reversed the color scheme with the light shade on the left and the dark on the right, but the uproar was so significant that Apple had to return it to the classic color arrangement.
This article, "Macintosh HD Gets a New Look in Latest macOS Tahoe Beta" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Releases Updated MagSafe Charger Firmware - MacRumors
Apple introduced the 2024 MagSafe charger alongside the iPhone 16 models back in September, and it is able to charge them at up to 25W. For the iPhone 12 models to the iPhone 15 models, charging is capped at 15W. Apple replaced all of its MagSafe chargers with the new model, and now only sells the 2024 version.
Firmware updates are released quietly over the air, and Apple does not provide release notes. We don't know what new features or bug fixes might be included in the software.
There is no clear method for updating a MagSafe charger's firmware, but it needs to be plugged in and connected to an Apple device for a firmware update to initiate. You can check your MagSafe Charger's firmware by following the instructions in our MagSafe Charger how to.Tag: MagSafe
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Apple Releases Updated MagSafe Charger Firmware - MacRumors
Apple introduced the 2024 MagSafe charger alongside the iPhone 16 models back in September, and it is able to charge them at up to 25W. For the iPhone 12 models to the iPhone 15 models, charging is capped at 15W. Apple replaced all of its MagSafe chargers with the new model, and now only sells the 2024 version.
Firmware updates are released quietly over the air, and Apple does not provide release notes. We don't know what new features or bug fixes might be included in the software.
There is no clear method for updating a MagSafe charger's firmware, but it needs to be plugged in and connected to an Apple device for a firmware update to initiate. You can check your MagSafe Charger's firmware by following the instructions in our MagSafe Charger how to.Tag: MagSafe
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iOS 26 Beta Reveals Apple Watch Ultra 3 Display Size - MacRumors
The image suggests that the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3 could have a slightly larger display size, with a display resolution of 422 x 514. The current Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a 410 x 502 resolution.
We haven't heard rumors of an increase in casing size, but the Apple Watch Ultra 3 could be the same size as the current version with slimmed down bezels that allow for a larger display area.
Apple is expected to unveil the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in just over a month, alongside new iPhone 17 models and the Series 11 Apple Watch models.
Rumors suggest that the Ultra 3 will also feature satellite connectivity for off grid communication, a brighter display with a faster refresh rate, a new chip, and any health features that are coming such as blood pressure monitoring. Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch Ultra (Don't Buy)Related Forum: Apple Watch
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iOS 26 Beta Reveals Apple Watch Ultra 3 Display Size - MacRumors
The image suggests that the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3 could have a slightly larger display size, with a display resolution of 422 x 514. The current Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a 410 x 502 resolution.
We haven't heard rumors of an increase in casing size, but the Apple Watch Ultra 3 could be the same size as the current version with slimmed down bezels that allow for a larger display area.
Apple is expected to unveil the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in just over a month, alongside new iPhone 17 models and the Series 11 Apple Watch models.
Rumors suggest that the Ultra 3 will also feature satellite connectivity for off grid communication, a brighter display with a faster refresh rate, a new chip, and any health features that are coming such as blood pressure monitoring. Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch Ultra (Don't Buy)Related Forum: Apple Watch
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Apple Seeds Fifth Developer Betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 - MacRumors
Registered developers can download the new beta software using the Software Update section of the Settings app.
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 feature Apple's new Liquid Glass design aesthetic, with a focus on translucency and glass-like interface elements. The design extends to the Lock Screen, Home Screen, and Control Center, along with menus and buttons in apps.
Apple's software includes features for apps like Messages, Phone, Shortcuts, and Apple Music, along with new Apple Intelligence features, a revamp for CarPlay, and more. In iPadOS 26, there's a whole new multitasking system that supports multiple app windows for a more Mac-like experience.
For more on the features in iOS 26, we have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup and a separate iPadOS 26 roundup. Several new features were found in beta 2 and we rounded them up, plus we did the same thing for beta 3 and beta 4. Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26
This article, "Apple Seeds Fifth Developer Betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Seeds Fifth Developer Betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 - MacRumors
Registered developers can download the new beta software using the Software Update section of the Settings app.
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 feature Apple's new Liquid Glass design aesthetic, with a focus on translucency and glass-like interface elements. The design extends to the Lock Screen, Home Screen, and Control Center, along with menus and buttons in apps.
Apple's software includes features for apps like Messages, Phone, Shortcuts, and Apple Music, along with new Apple Intelligence features, a revamp for CarPlay, and more. In iPadOS 26, there's a whole new multitasking system that supports multiple app windows for a more Mac-like experience.
For more on the features in iOS 26, we have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup and a separate iPadOS 26 roundup. Several new features were found in beta 2 and we rounded them up, plus we did the same thing for beta 3 and beta 4. Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26
This article, "Apple Seeds Fifth Developer Betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Tahoe to Developers - MacRumors
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the System Settings app.
macOS Tahoe features Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, which extends across all of the new updates this year. Apple also brought the Phone and Journal apps to the Mac for the first time, and introduced a new cross-platform Games app.
With the update, Apple overhauled how Spotlight works, enabling new functionality that allows it to be used to complete all kinds of actions like sending emails without having to open up an app. There are also changes to a number of apps, including Messages, Safari, and Notes.
All of the new features that are included in macOS Tahoe are outlined in our dedicated roundup.
macOS Tahoe is set to launch this fall.Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe 26Related Forum: macOS Tahoe
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Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS Tahoe to Developers - MacRumors
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the System Settings app.
macOS Tahoe features Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, which extends across all of the new updates this year. Apple also brought the Phone and Journal apps to the Mac for the first time, and introduced a new cross-platform Games app.
With the update, Apple overhauled how Spotlight works, enabling new functionality that allows it to be used to complete all kinds of actions like sending emails without having to open up an app. There are also changes to a number of apps, including Messages, Safari, and Notes.
All of the new features that are included in macOS Tahoe are outlined in our dedicated roundup.
macOS Tahoe is set to launch this fall.Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe 26Related Forum: macOS Tahoe
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Nuovo Stonex S950 GNSS: un alleato compatto e performante per il rilievo professionale - GEOmedia News
Apple Launches Early Preview of ChatGPT-Like Support Assistant - MacRumors
In the Apple Support app, the Support Assistant early preview can be accessed by tapping on a dedicated "Chat" button that's been added to the navigation bar. Only a select number of iPhone users will see the chat option at this time.
Tapping on the Chat button launches the new Support Assistant. It opens with a splash screen that gives you insight into how to use it. The Support Assistant is able to answer questions about your Apple products and services, providing troubleshooting information, answering questions about device features, and more.
The chatbot will not answer questions that are not related to Apple support, so you can't ask it details about upcoming products.
If the AI can't solve your issue, there is an option to escalate a chat to one of Apple's support staff for additional help.
Apple warns that the Support Assistant is an experimental feature that "may make mistakes." The company recommends that users verify important information.
It is not clear how long the early preview will last, and Apple hasn't provided details on when the Support Assistant will launch for all users.
(Thanks, Gatlyn!)
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Apple Launches Early Preview of ChatGPT-Like Support Assistant - MacRumors
In the Apple Support app, the Support Assistant early preview can be accessed by tapping on a dedicated "Chat" button that's been added to the navigation bar. Only a select number of iPhone users will see the chat option at this time.
Tapping on the Chat button launches the new Support Assistant. It opens with a splash screen that gives you insight into how to use it. The Support Assistant is able to answer questions about your Apple products and services, providing troubleshooting information, answering questions about device features, and more.
The chatbot will not answer questions that are not related to Apple support, so you can't ask it details about upcoming products.
If the AI can't solve your issue, there is an option to escalate a chat to one of Apple's support staff for additional help.
Apple warns that the Support Assistant is an experimental feature that "may make mistakes." The company recommends that users verify important information.
It is not clear how long the early preview will last, and Apple hasn't provided details on when the Support Assistant will launch for all users.
(Thanks, Gatlyn!)
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Apple Seeds Fifth watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 Developer Betas - MacRumors
The software updates can be downloaded through the Settings app on each device. A developer account is required.
watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 adopt new Liquid Glass design changes inspired by visionOS, much like iOS 26 and macOS 26. watchOS has a new AI-powered Workout Buddy for motivation and the Smart Stack incorporates more personal context for better suggestions. There's also a new Notes app and support for Live Translation.
tvOS 26 supports karaoke using an iPhone as a microphone, improvements for using AirPlay speakers with a TV, new Aerial screen savers, and support for quicker logins to apps at setup thanks to Apple Account syncing.
visionOS 26 adds support for spatial widgets that can be placed anywhere in the space around you, along with refinements to make personas more lifelike and support for shared spatial experiences between two Vision Pro users.
The visionOS 26 beta is limited to developers, but developers and public beta testers can download watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. The updates will launch this fall.
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Apple Seeds Fifth watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 Developer Betas - MacRumors
The software updates can be downloaded through the Settings app on each device. A developer account is required.
watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 adopt new Liquid Glass design changes inspired by visionOS, much like iOS 26 and macOS 26. watchOS has a new AI-powered Workout Buddy for motivation and the Smart Stack incorporates more personal context for better suggestions. There's also a new Notes app and support for Live Translation.
tvOS 26 supports karaoke using an iPhone as a microphone, improvements for using AirPlay speakers with a TV, new Aerial screen savers, and support for quicker logins to apps at setup thanks to Apple Account syncing.
visionOS 26 adds support for spatial widgets that can be placed anywhere in the space around you, along with refinements to make personas more lifelike and support for shared spatial experiences between two Vision Pro users.
The visionOS 26 beta is limited to developers, but developers and public beta testers can download watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. The updates will launch this fall.
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Pioggia in galleria: il georadar svela cosa accade sotto l’asfalto grazie alla tecnologia Kontur - GEOmedia News
Un’ispezione ad alta tecnologia trasforma una semplice osservazione in un caso studio nel monitoraggio
...Employees Arrested Over Alleged Theft of Chip Tech for Apple A20 Chip - MacRumors
TSMC is Apple's sole chip supplier. It today disclosed that it has identified and acted upon an internal security breach involving attempts to exfiltrate trade secrets concerning its next-generation 2-nanometer process technology.
TSMC referred the matter to Taiwanese authorities, resulting in the arrest of three individuals, including a current engineer, a former employee, and a third suspect whose connection to the company was not disclosed. TSMC uncovered the situation by noticing "unusual access patterns" within the company's internal system related to "critical" information about 2-nanometer chip development and production.
According to TSMC's official roadmap, the 2-nanometer node offers considerable gains in both performance and energy efficiency. The node introduces nanosheet transistor architecture, replacing the FinFET design used in prior generations.
TSMC claims this shift will enable a 10% to 15% speed improvement or a 25% to 30% reduction in power consumption compared to 3-nanometer, with similar or better density. Apple is widely expected to adopt the 2-nanometer process for the "A20" chip, which will likely be used across next year's iPhone 18 lineup. Tags: Apple Silicon, Taiwan, TSMC
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Employees Arrested Over Alleged Theft of Chip Tech for Apple A20 Chip - MacRumors
TSMC is Apple's sole chip supplier. It today disclosed that it has identified and acted upon an internal security breach involving attempts to exfiltrate trade secrets concerning its next-generation 2-nanometer process technology.
TSMC referred the matter to Taiwanese authorities, resulting in the arrest of three individuals, including a current engineer, a former employee, and a third suspect whose connection to the company was not disclosed. TSMC uncovered the situation by noticing "unusual access patterns" within the company's internal system related to "critical" information about 2-nanometer chip development and production.
According to TSMC's official roadmap, the 2-nanometer node offers considerable gains in both performance and energy efficiency. The node introduces nanosheet transistor architecture, replacing the FinFET design used in prior generations.
TSMC claims this shift will enable a 10% to 15% speed improvement or a 25% to 30% reduction in power consumption compared to 3-nanometer, with similar or better density. Apple is widely expected to adopt the 2-nanometer process for the "A20" chip, which will likely be used across next year's iPhone 18 lineup. Tags: Apple Silicon, Taiwan, TSMC
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iOS 26: Extend iPhone Battery Life With Adaptive Power Mode - MacRumors
What Adaptive Power Mode Does
When your battery usage runs higher than usual, Adaptive Power Mode automatically makes small performance tweaks to help your iPhone last longer. Apple says this includes slightly dimming the display brightness or allowing some tasks to "take a little longer" to complete.
The feature works in the background without the limitations of Low Power Mode, although the latter may still be activated if your device depletes to a 20% charge level.
Compatible iPhone Models
Adaptive Power Mode requires Apple Intelligence, which limits availability to the following iPhone models:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
The feature won't work on iPhone 14 Pro models or earlier, since they lack the necessary AI processing capabilities. However, if you're the proud owner of an iPhone 17 (launching September 2025), rest assured Adaptive Power Mode is supported.
How to Turn On Adaptive Power Mode
Follow these steps to enable the feature, which is turned off by default:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap Battery.
- Tap Power Mode.
- Toggle on the switch next to Adaptive Power.
Once enabled, your iPhone will automatically monitor battery usage patterns and make adjustments when needed. You don't need to manage the feature manually, as it works entirely behind the scenes. iOS 26 will see a general release in September 2025.
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iOS 26: Extend iPhone Battery Life With Adaptive Power Mode - MacRumors
What Adaptive Power Mode Does
When your battery usage runs higher than usual, Adaptive Power Mode automatically makes small performance tweaks to help your iPhone last longer. Apple says this includes slightly dimming the display brightness or allowing some tasks to "take a little longer" to complete.
The feature works in the background without the limitations of Low Power Mode, although the latter may still be activated if your device depletes to a 20% charge level.
Compatible iPhone Models
Adaptive Power Mode requires Apple Intelligence, which limits availability to the following iPhone models:
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
The feature won't work on iPhone 14 Pro models or earlier, since they lack the necessary AI processing capabilities. However, if you're the proud owner of an iPhone 17 (launching September 2025), rest assured Adaptive Power Mode is supported.
How to Turn On Adaptive Power Mode
Follow these steps to enable the feature, which is turned off by default:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap Battery.
- Tap Power Mode.
- Toggle on the switch next to Adaptive Power.
Once enabled, your iPhone will automatically monitor battery usage patterns and make adjustments when needed. You don't need to manage the feature manually, as it works entirely behind the scenes. iOS 26 will see a general release in September 2025.
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Apple Watch SE Available for $169 Record Low Price on Amazon - MacRumors
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Amazon has six 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE at this price, including multiple sizes of the Sport Band model. Most are in stock and available to be delivered by the end of the week.
$80 OFFApple Watch SE (40mm GPS) for $169.00
Additionally, you can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE at the low price of $199.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00. This one is available in Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Aluminum colors, and in both Sport Loop and Sport Band options.
$80 OFFApple Watch SE (44mm GPS) for $199.00
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Apple Watch SE Available for $169 Record Low Price on Amazon - MacRumors
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Amazon has six 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE at this price, including multiple sizes of the Sport Band model. Most are in stock and available to be delivered by the end of the week.
$80 OFFApple Watch SE (40mm GPS) for $169.00
Additionally, you can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE at the low price of $199.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00. This one is available in Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Aluminum colors, and in both Sport Loop and Sport Band options.
$80 OFFApple Watch SE (44mm GPS) for $199.00
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Apple Support App to Offer New ChatGPT-Like Feature [Updated] - MacRumors
Apple recently updated its website with Terms of Use for the Support Assistant, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The page confirms that the feature will be a ChatGPT-like chat tool powered by generative AI, with customers able to receive generated answers to their questions about various Apple products and services.
You can already chat with a human in the Apple Support app, whereas this tool will be a bot.
"Support Assistant uses generative models," says Apple's Terms of Use. "You understand and agree that generative models may occasionally generate incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs."
Apple says the tool is for technical support only.
Apple last updated its Support app on July 15, which is the same date listed in the Terms of Use. To the best of our knowledge, however, the Support Assistant has yet to launch. There is precedent for Apple updating its Legal page about a feature before it launches, but leave a comment if you find the Support Assistant.
The feature will likely be available in the U.S. only, at least initially, as the Terms of Use have not been published in any other countries.
Update — 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time: Some users have access to an "Early Preview" of the feature.Tag: Apple Support
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Apple Support App to Offer New ChatGPT-Like Feature [Updated] - MacRumors
Apple recently updated its website with Terms of Use for the Support Assistant, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The page confirms that the feature will be a ChatGPT-like chat tool powered by generative AI, with customers able to receive generated answers to their questions about various Apple products and services.
You can already chat with a human in the Apple Support app, whereas this tool will be a bot.
"Support Assistant uses generative models," says Apple's Terms of Use. "You understand and agree that generative models may occasionally generate incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs."
Apple says the tool is for technical support only.
Apple last updated its Support app on July 15, which is the same date listed in the Terms of Use. To the best of our knowledge, however, the Support Assistant has yet to launch. There is precedent for Apple updating its Legal page about a feature before it launches, but leave a comment if you find the Support Assistant.
The feature will likely be available in the U.S. only, at least initially, as the Terms of Use have not been published in any other countries.
Update — 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time: Some users have access to an "Early Preview" of the feature.Tag: Apple Support
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Adobe Takes 40% Off Creative Cloud Pro for Your First Year - MacRumors
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Adobe. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
You can also choose to pay for the entire year upfront at the price of $467.93 per year, down from $779.88 per year. After your first year ends, your subscription will automatically renew at the standard rate unless you change or cancel the subscription. This sale ends August 17.
40% OFFAdobe Creative Cloud Pro for $41.99/month
When signing up for Creative Cloud Pro, you gain access to more than 20 creative apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Acrobat Pro, plus Adobe Firefly creative AI for images, video, and audio. You also get templates, cloud storage, and thousands of Adobe Fonts.
Adobe is also offering 40 percent off your first six months of Creative Cloud Pro for teams, priced at $59.99 per month, down from $99.99 per month. Finally, students and teachers can get Creative Cloud Pro for $29.99 per month for their first year, down from $69.99 per month.
Adobe's Creative Cloud Pro plan is basically the same as the previous "Creative Cloud All Apps" plan, with the addition of AI features. This includes unlimited access to AI image features and 4,000 monthly generative credits for premium AI video and audio features.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Adobe Takes 40% Off Creative Cloud Pro for Your First Year - MacRumors
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Adobe. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
You can also choose to pay for the entire year upfront at the price of $467.93 per year, down from $779.88 per year. After your first year ends, your subscription will automatically renew at the standard rate unless you change or cancel the subscription. This sale ends August 17.
40% OFFAdobe Creative Cloud Pro for $41.99/month
When signing up for Creative Cloud Pro, you gain access to more than 20 creative apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Acrobat Pro, plus Adobe Firefly creative AI for images, video, and audio. You also get templates, cloud storage, and thousands of Adobe Fonts.
Adobe is also offering 40 percent off your first six months of Creative Cloud Pro for teams, priced at $59.99 per month, down from $99.99 per month. Finally, students and teachers can get Creative Cloud Pro for $29.99 per month for their first year, down from $69.99 per month.
Adobe's Creative Cloud Pro plan is basically the same as the previous "Creative Cloud All Apps" plan, with the addition of AI features. This includes unlimited access to AI image features and 4,000 monthly generative credits for premium AI video and audio features.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!
Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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iPhone 17 Pro Launching Next Month With These 12 New Features - MacRumors
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Below is the August 2025 edition of our iPhone 17 Pro rumor recap, for an up-to-date overview of what to expect from the devices:
- Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a stainless steel frame. The back of the devices will supposedly have a new "part-aluminum, part-glass" design.
- Rectangular camera bump: iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to have a large rectangular camera bump.
- Anti-reflective display option: While it has been an on-again, off-again rumor, the latest word is that iPhone 17 Pro models will feature an anti-reflect display option with a matte finish. Perhaps this will be the same nano-texture glass option that is available for the iMac, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro.
- Dynamic Island changes: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might also be smaller.
- Orange/Copper color: A new copper-like color option is expected for the iPhone 17 Pro models, along with Dark Blue.
- Longer battery life: The iPhone 17 Pro Max is rumored to have a slightly thicker design that allows for a larger battery. The iPhone 17 Pro Max will apparently surpass the 5,000 mAh battery capacity mark.
- A19 Pro chip: iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to use Apple's next-generation A19 Pro chip, which will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's newer third-generation 3nm process. Like usual, expect modest year-over-year performance gains and power efficiency improvements compared to the current iPhones.
- 12GB of RAM: iPhone 17 Pro models, and even the iPhone 17 Air, are rumored to have 12GB of RAM. This upgrade should help to improve the performance of Apple Intelligence and multitasking. All four iPhone 16 models have 8GB of RAM.
- 24-megapixel front camera: All four iPhone 17 models are said to feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, whereas all iPhone 16 models are equipped with a 12-megapixel front-facing camera.
- 48-megapixel Telephoto camera with 8x optical zoom: An upgraded 48-megapixel Telephoto camera is rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, up from the 12-megapixel Telephoto camera on iPhone 16 Pro models. The camera may have a moving lens that offers both 5x and 8x optical zoom.
- Dual video recording: iPhone 17 Pro models may allow users to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously in the Camera app.
- Vapor chamber cooling system: All four iPhone 17 models are rumored to feature internal design changes that result in better heat dissipation. A vapor chamber cooling system has been rumored for the Pro models specifically.
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iPhone 17 Pro Launching Next Month With These 12 New Features - MacRumors
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below is the August 2025 edition of our iPhone 17 Pro rumor recap, for an up-to-date overview of what to expect from the devices:
- Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a stainless steel frame. The back of the devices will supposedly have a new "part-aluminum, part-glass" design.
- Rectangular camera bump: iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to have a large rectangular camera bump.
- Anti-reflective display option: While it has been an on-again, off-again rumor, the latest word is that iPhone 17 Pro models will feature an anti-reflect display option with a matte finish. Perhaps this will be the same nano-texture glass option that is available for the iMac, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro.
- Dynamic Island changes: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might also be smaller.
- Orange/Copper color: A new copper-like color option is expected for the iPhone 17 Pro models, along with Dark Blue.
- Longer battery life: The iPhone 17 Pro Max is rumored to have a slightly thicker design that allows for a larger battery. The iPhone 17 Pro Max will apparently surpass the 5,000 mAh battery capacity mark.
- A19 Pro chip: iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to use Apple's next-generation A19 Pro chip, which will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's newer third-generation 3nm process. Like usual, expect modest year-over-year performance gains and power efficiency improvements compared to the current iPhones.
- 12GB of RAM: iPhone 17 Pro models, and even the iPhone 17 Air, are rumored to have 12GB of RAM. This upgrade should help to improve the performance of Apple Intelligence and multitasking. All four iPhone 16 models have 8GB of RAM.
- 24-megapixel front camera: All four iPhone 17 models are said to feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, whereas all iPhone 16 models are equipped with a 12-megapixel front-facing camera.
- 48-megapixel Telephoto camera with 8x optical zoom: An upgraded 48-megapixel Telephoto camera is rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models, up from the 12-megapixel Telephoto camera on iPhone 16 Pro models. The camera may have a moving lens that offers both 5x and 8x optical zoom.
- Dual video recording: iPhone 17 Pro models may allow users to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously in the Camera app.
- Vapor chamber cooling system: All four iPhone 17 models are rumored to feature internal design changes that result in better heat dissipation. A vapor chamber cooling system has been rumored for the Pro models specifically.
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Miami, Houston Residents Spend Most on Transportation - Planetizen
Residents of Greater Miami spend roughly 20 percent of their income on transportation, tying with Houston for the highest rate in the country. According to an article in the Miami Herald by Max Klaver, that equals around $14,400 per household.
“Americans in general are spending more on cars now than almost ever before. According to Kelley Blue Book, new car buyers paid almost $50,000 per purchase at the end of 2024, just under 2022 highs, when supply chain disruptions led to shortages of new vehicles on the market.” In places like Miami and Houston where public transit is sparse, owning a car can be a non-negotiable.
In South Florida, over half of workers commute 10 miles or more to work, and almost 15 percent have a commute of 50 miles or more. “Gas eats up roughly 4% of Greater Miamians’ annual household spending, one of the highest shares among major U.S. metro areas, according to the Census Bureau.” Floridians also pay more than average for car insurance due to the high risk of severe weather and high rate of uninsured drivers.
In the long term, local governments can invest in transit and dense housing, as well as “bike lanes, sidewalks and improved pedestrian street crossings to make non-car transit, which is the cheapest way to get around, more attractive, especially for short trips.” In the meantime, employers can offer gas and transit subsidies to help employees offset travel costs.
Geography Florida Texas Category Transportation Tags Publication Miami Herald Publication Date Mon, 08/04/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links South Floridians spend more on transportation than almost anyone else in U.S. 2 minutesMiami, Houston Residents Spend Most on Transportation - Planetizen
Residents of Greater Miami spend roughly 20 percent of their income on transportation, tying with Houston for the highest rate in the country. According to an article in the Miami Herald by Max Klaver, that equals around $14,400 per household.
“Americans in general are spending more on cars now than almost ever before. According to Kelley Blue Book, new car buyers paid almost $50,000 per purchase at the end of 2024, just under 2022 highs, when supply chain disruptions led to shortages of new vehicles on the market.” In places like Miami and Houston where public transit is sparse, owning a car can be a non-negotiable.
In South Florida, over half of workers commute 10 miles or more to work, and almost 15 percent have a commute of 50 miles or more. “Gas eats up roughly 4% of Greater Miamians’ annual household spending, one of the highest shares among major U.S. metro areas, according to the Census Bureau.” Floridians also pay more than average for car insurance due to the high risk of severe weather and high rate of uninsured drivers.
In the long term, local governments can invest in transit and dense housing, as well as “bike lanes, sidewalks and improved pedestrian street crossings to make non-car transit, which is the cheapest way to get around, more attractive, especially for short trips.” In the meantime, employers can offer gas and transit subsidies to help employees offset travel costs.
Geography Florida Texas Category Transportation Tags Publication Miami Herald Publication Date Mon, 08/04/2025 - 12:00 Publication Links South Floridians spend more on transportation than almost anyone else in U.S. 2 minutesTo Sprawl or Not to Sprawl: But Is That the Question? - Planetizen
Not quite three months ago, a piece entitled “Why America Should Sprawl” by reporter Conor Daugherty was prominently featured in the New York Times. While much of it read like a puff piece for a bunch of Texas developers, the medium in which it appeared ensured that it would get attention, arguably more than it deserved on its merits. As a provocation and a challenge to a lot of the conversation on the subject of housing supply, however, it hit the mark. Given the title, there’s little doubt that the provocation was intended; after all, a piece entitled “Why America should carefully extend urban infrastructure to accommodate growth” might work for Planetizen or the Congress for the New Urbanism, but wouldn’t generate much buzz.
A couple of weeks ago, a rejoinder to Daugherty’s piece appeared with the title “Sprawl is Still Not the Answer” by four authors associated with the Rocky Mountain Institute and the World Resources Institute. It didn’t make the Times, but it appeared in Bloomberg City Lab, which is also fairly widely read. Part of the piece is devoted to the environmental case against consuming forests and farmland, which I agree is important to acknowledge. But the guts of the piece are their argument that by reforming local land use regulations we can create almost infinite amounts of housing within the existing built footprint of our central cities. This “we can have our cake and eat it too” proposition is the guts of the environmental argument against greenfield development. Rather than either simply nodding in agreement or dismissing them as cranks, however, it is worth taking a close look at their rationale and their evidence.
They start with the general and well-known proposition that most American cities have been developed at much lower densities than European cities like Paris or Barcelona, which is certainly true. This relates to their next argument, quoting from a forthcoming analysis that “by modestly increasing housing density — adding just five homes per acre — we could increase housing availability in built-up areas by 15% to 56% across nine states.” Like the density argument, this may well be technically correct. And yes, Haussmann rebuilt Paris in the 19th century with six story apartment buildings covering well over half of each building lot at a time when most American cities were being developed with blocks of single family houses, as we can see in Figure 1.
Urban density in 19th century Paris (left) and 19th century Cleveland, Ohio (right). Images: Google EarthBut both are utterly irrelevant. Urban areas, whatever their density, are not a development tabula rasa. They are intensively developed places which have been subdivided into thousands of separate properties or lots, each one usually occupied by a house or other building, each one of which is usually owned by a different individual, couple or business entity. And it is the feasibility of assembling urban sites, not their underlying density, which dictates whether urban redevelopment happens.
Now, it is true that developers acquire already-developed urban sites and redevelop them at higher density. No city is ever, as some people like to say, “fully developed.” But when looking at urban redevelopment and infill, it is critical to distinguish what actually takes place from what doesn’t. And that is dictated not by what planners and environmentalists would want, but by what makes business sense for developers and property owners. That means finding property owners willing to sell at prices that make redevelopment feasible, and buyers or renters for the end product who are willing and able to pay what it costs the developer to create it and make a fair profit on the outcome.
Development is very expensive, and property owners — particularly homeowners, whose motivations are far from exclusively financial — are unpredictable. The way residential areas in cities like Cleveland have been subdivided means that to acquire even a small buildable parcel — say, two acres — a developer may have to successfully negotiate with twelve or fifteen separate landowners, any one of whom can prevent the project from happening. Which means, among other things, that by the time he or she is finished, acquisition will have becomes a very expensive proposition. Not to mention that the number of people who are willing to pay top dollar rents to live in an apartment building plopped down in a typical Cleveland residential neighborhood are few and far between.
What that means in the real world, is that (1) significant urban redevelopment takes place only in areas of strong demand, which are either hot market cities like San Francisco or Austin or those relatively small parts of cities like Minneapolis or Cleveland where people who both have money and want to live in high-density housing concentrate; and (2) redevelopment almost exclusively takes place in currently commercial or industrial areas in those cities, because that’s where developers find large parcels in single ownership and owners willing to sell. And usually only in those areas that are also close enough to downtown, a major university, or some other amenity to ensure strong demand for the project. That’s what’s happening in Minneapolis, where nearly all the new housing is in large apartment buildings clustered close to downtown and the University of Minnesota.
Figure 2: New Multifamily Housing near the University of Minnesota. Image: Google EarthThe areas where significant redevelopment does not take place, even after cities rezone those areas, are the vast stretches of our central cities occupied by single family homes, as Minneapolis found after they famously rezoned their single-family neighborhoods. Yes, there are exceptions to this proposition, but they are few and far between. The cost, time and brain damage to would-be developers of assembling enough properties in those areas is rarely proportionate to the potential return. Put differently, it is not scalable.
If we are to be remotely serious about this issue, we need to accept a fundamental proposition to guide our thinking: no strategy to address America’s housing shortage is worth taking seriously unless it is scalable. Piecemeal redevelopment of single family residential areas in cities is not scalable. Up to a point, construction of large multifamily buildings in well-located commercial or industrial areas is scalable in many cities, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) appears to be scalable — ADUs currently make up 15% to 30% of all new housing units in a number of West Coast cities — but probably only in strong market cities and neighborhoods. Neither, separately or together, will come close to meeting America’s housing needs.
After rather fatuously accusing Daugherty and his ilk of “learned helplessness,” the authors then assert that some American cities are already solving their housing problems, citing Minneapolis and Austin as “the emerging proof.” Minneapolis and Austin are doing well compared to many other American cities, but pointing to them as proof that central cities can solve their housing problems by themselves is like arguing that you can end a nationwide drought by handing out bottles of Perrier. Let’s start with Austin.
Rents have indeed gone down in the past two years in Austin. But, as figure 3 shows, they are still on the high end among Texas peer cities. The big difference is that Austin’s rents rose faster than in the other cities from 2019 to 2022, which suggests that the decline is more likely a correction, rather than the harbinger of a long-term downward trend. Meanwhile, sales prices in Austin have been going up steadily (+61% from 2017 to 2023), making the city only an average performer among large American cities on that metric.
Figure 3: Zillow Rental Index for Major Texas Cities 2015-2025. SOURCE: Graphic by author using data from Zillow Rental IndexBut what’s even more important to understand about Austin is that the city’s suburbs are building much more housing than the city itself. Between 2015 and 2024, 60% of the building permits issued in the Austin metro were in the suburbs, including 80% of the metro’s single family homes. As every serious student of urban development knows, although perhaps not the authors of “Sprawl is Still Not the Answer,” metros are a single housing market, where what happens in one area affects the others. One of the major reasons why housing is so expensive in New York City is because so little housing is being built in its suburbs, particularly on Long Island and in Westchester County. Whatever is happening to moderate housing costs in Austin is the sum of urban and suburban development, not the result of Austin’s growth alone.
The pattern is similar in Minneapolis. Minneapolis has built a decent amount of housing over the past decade — although no more than many other cities — and both rental and sales price growth has been moderate by national standards. But here, even more than in Austin, all of the growth has been in multifamily housing — and nearly all in large apartment projects, not (as the authors of "Sprawl is Still Not the Answer" claim) small buildings. That's significant, because the large apartment buildings being built in Minneapolis and elsewhere tend to appeal to a very narrow demographic, young college-graduate singles and couples. Furthermore, after a dramatic spurt in permits a few years ago, housing production in Minneapolis has all but collapsed since peaking in 2019. Austin’s pattern has been similar, but less dramatic (figure 4). This may reflect exhaustion of easily-developed sites, or it may reflect overbuilding of a particular type of housing for which demand may be limited, particularly as remote and hybrid work become more customary in many economic sectors. In a market economy like the United States, flat or declining rents may actually be a double-edged sword, since, in conjunction with rising development costs, they can result in reducing profitability and discouraging developers from starting new projects.
Figure 4: Building permits by year in Austin and Minneapolis relative to 2015 baseline. SOURCE: Graphic by author using data from HUD, State of the Cities Data SystemNOTE: Since the numbers are so different in the two cities, a graph showing absolute numbers would be unreadable. Instead, I show permits for each year as a ratio of the number of permits issued in 2015.
More significantly, the reality and importance of simultaneous urban and suburban growth is as true for Minneapolis as it is for Austin. Some 59% of the building permits issued in Hennepin County from 2015 to 2024 were in the suburbs, including 94% of the permits issued for single family homes. [1]
This brings out another important reality of urban densification: nearly all the people who move into the new apartment buildings in the cities, are in 1 or 2 person households. For example, 80% of all added households in Minneapolis between 2013 and 2023, and 85% in Austin, have been 1 or 2 person households. By contrast, almost 2/3 of the growth in Richardson, Texas, a fast-growing suburb of Dallas, over the same period was in households with three or more members. Those families are not looking to live in small apartments in five story buildings.
The suburban growth in the Sunbelt may be “sprawl,” if one is going to use that term to describe any and all greenfields development, but as Figure 5 from Princeton, Texas (a city featured in Daugherty’s article) shows, it is very compact sprawl. The homes shown in the image are built at a gross density including streets, playgrounds and such, of roughly five units per acre, and a net density within each block, based on 6250 square foot lots, of seven units per acre. Not quite urban multifamily densities, to be sure, but if one accepts the proposition that there is a continued demand for single family homes, a highly efficient use of land.
Figure 5: New Subdivisions in Princeton, Texas. Source: Google EarthIn the final analysis, it is not a question of whether to build in the cities or in the suburbs, but to do both. While Daugherty gives a nod to building in cities, he points out that “Even if all the regulatory restraints were removed tomorrow, developers couldn’t find enough land to satisfy America’s housing needs inside established areas.” That’s true, because the constraint isn’t the number of square miles inside a given city, but the feasibility of assembling and redeveloping the land, and the ability to not only build the number of homes people need, but the diversity of home types they want. It is ironic — as the numbers for Austin and Minneapolis show — that a future in which housing needs are met entirely in central cities would replace the much-deplored tyranny of the single family home with a new tyranny of apartment living.[2] But that doesn't mean we shouldn't build what we can inside central cities, including redevelopment and infill housing.
A strategy of both/and should not, and need not, be a mindless one. As I and others have pointed out, the suburbs of America’s cities offer greater opportunities for densification than the cities themselves. Larger suburban lots offer ample scope for ADUs, while miles of vacant or underutilized commercial land along arterial roads, shopping malls and office parks offer room for large-scale development of multifamily housing. Thoughtful planning and environmental management can preserve stream corridors, wetlands, forests and high productivity farmland, while ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and amenities are in place for future development.
A facile “sprawl bad, urban infill good” mantra is no more meaningful than saying “we need more sprawl.” We do need to fill in, but we also need to grow out. What we really need are more productive conversations about how to do both well, rather than more pointless examples of people talking past one another.
[1] To compare metro totals to city totals in the case of Minneapolis would be misleading, because the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro is multipolar, compared to the unipolar Austin metro. In all likelihood, though, the suburban share of metro development as a whole is probably even larger than this data suggests.
[2] For a variety of reasons, which are beyond the scope of this piece but which I hope to touch on in a future piece, we are unlikely to see much so-called “missing middle” housing actually built.
Category Housing Land Use Urban Development 11 minutesTo Sprawl or Not to Sprawl: But Is That the Question? - Planetizen
Not quite three months ago, a piece entitled “Why America Should Sprawl” by reporter Conor Daugherty was prominently featured in the New York Times. While much of it read like a puff piece for a bunch of Texas developers, the medium in which it appeared ensured that it would get attention, arguably more than it deserved on its merits. As a provocation and a challenge to a lot of the conversation on the subject of housing supply, however, it hit the mark. Given the title, there’s little doubt that the provocation was intended; after all, a piece entitled “Why America should carefully extend urban infrastructure to accommodate growth” might work for Planetizen or the Congress for the New Urbanism, but wouldn’t generate much buzz.
A couple of weeks ago, a rejoinder to Daugherty’s piece appeared with the title “Sprawl is Still Not the Answer” by four authors associated with the Rocky Mountain Institute and the World Resources Institute. It didn’t make the Times, but it appeared in Bloomberg City Lab, which is also fairly widely read. Part of the piece is devoted to the environmental case against consuming forests and farmland, which I agree is important to acknowledge. But the guts of the piece are their argument that by reforming local land use regulations we can create almost infinite amounts of housing within the existing built footprint of our central cities. This “we can have our cake and eat it too” proposition is the guts of the environmental argument against greenfield development. Rather than either simply nodding in agreement or dismissing them as cranks, however, it is worth taking a close look at their rationale and their evidence.
They start with the general and well-known proposition that most American cities have been developed at much lower densities than European cities like Paris or Barcelona, which is certainly true. This relates to their next argument, quoting from a forthcoming analysis that “by modestly increasing housing density — adding just five homes per acre — we could increase housing availability in built-up areas by 15% to 56% across nine states.” Like the density argument, this may well be technically correct. And yes, Haussmann rebuilt Paris in the 19th century with six story apartment buildings covering well over half of each building lot at a time when most American cities were being developed with blocks of single family houses, as we can see in Figure 1.
Urban density in 19th century Paris (left) and 19th century Cleveland, Ohio (right). Images: Google EarthBut both are utterly irrelevant. Urban areas, whatever their density, are not a development tabula rasa. They are intensively developed places which have been subdivided into thousands of separate properties or lots, each one usually occupied by a house or other building, each one of which is usually owned by a different individual, couple or business entity. And it is the feasibility of assembling urban sites, not their underlying density, which dictates whether urban redevelopment happens.
Now, it is true that developers acquire already-developed urban sites and redevelop them at higher density. No city is ever, as some people like to say, “fully developed.” But when looking at urban redevelopment and infill, it is critical to distinguish what actually takes place from what doesn’t. And that is dictated not by what planners and environmentalists would want, but by what makes business sense for developers and property owners. That means finding property owners willing to sell at prices that make redevelopment feasible, and buyers or renters for the end product who are willing and able to pay what it costs the developer to create it and make a fair profit on the outcome.
Development is very expensive, and property owners — particularly homeowners, whose motivations are far from exclusively financial — are unpredictable. The way residential areas in cities like Cleveland have been subdivided means that to acquire even a small buildable parcel — say, two acres — a developer may have to successfully negotiate with twelve or fifteen separate landowners, any one of whom can prevent the project from happening. Which means, among other things, that by the time he or she is finished, acquisition will have becomes a very expensive proposition. Not to mention that the number of people who are willing to pay top dollar rents to live in an apartment building plopped down in a typical Cleveland residential neighborhood are few and far between.
What that means in the real world, is that (1) significant urban redevelopment takes place only in areas of strong demand, which are either hot market cities like San Francisco or Austin or those relatively small parts of cities like Minneapolis or Cleveland where people who both have money and want to live in high-density housing concentrate; and (2) redevelopment almost exclusively takes place in currently commercial or industrial areas in those cities, because that’s where developers find large parcels in single ownership and owners willing to sell. And usually only in those areas that are also close enough to downtown, a major university, or some other amenity to ensure strong demand for the project. That’s what’s happening in Minneapolis, where nearly all the new housing is in large apartment buildings clustered close to downtown and the University of Minnesota.
Figure 2: New Multifamily Housing near the University of Minnesota. Image: Google EarthThe areas where significant redevelopment does not take place, even after cities rezone those areas, are the vast stretches of our central cities occupied by single family homes, as Minneapolis found after they famously rezoned their single-family neighborhoods. Yes, there are exceptions to this proposition, but they are few and far between. The cost, time and brain damage to would-be developers of assembling enough properties in those areas is rarely proportionate to the potential return. Put differently, it is not scalable.
If we are to be remotely serious about this issue, we need to accept a fundamental proposition to guide our thinking: no strategy to address America’s housing shortage is worth taking seriously unless it is scalable. Piecemeal redevelopment of single family residential areas in cities is not scalable. Up to a point, construction of large multifamily buildings in well-located commercial or industrial areas is scalable in many cities, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) appears to be scalable — ADUs currently make up 15% to 30% of all new housing units in a number of West Coast cities — but probably only in strong market cities and neighborhoods. Neither, separately or together, will come close to meeting America’s housing needs.
After rather fatuously accusing Daugherty and his ilk of “learned helplessness,” the authors then assert that some American cities are already solving their housing problems, citing Minneapolis and Austin as “the emerging proof.” Minneapolis and Austin are doing well compared to many other American cities, but pointing to them as proof that central cities can solve their housing problems by themselves is like arguing that you can end a nationwide drought by handing out bottles of Perrier. Let’s start with Austin.
Rents have indeed gone down in the past two years in Austin. But, as figure 3 shows, they are still on the high end among Texas peer cities. The big difference is that Austin’s rents rose faster than in the other cities from 2019 to 2022, which suggests that the decline is more likely a correction, rather than the harbinger of a long-term downward trend. Meanwhile, sales prices in Austin have been going up steadily (+61% from 2017 to 2023), making the city only an average performer among large American cities on that metric.
Figure 3: Zillow Rental Index for Major Texas Cities 2015-2025. SOURCE: Graphic by author using data from Zillow Rental IndexBut what’s even more important to understand about Austin is that the city’s suburbs are building much more housing than the city itself. Between 2015 and 2024, 60% of the building permits issued in the Austin metro were in the suburbs, including 80% of the metro’s single family homes. As every serious student of urban development knows, although perhaps not the authors of “Sprawl is Still Not the Answer,” metros are a single housing market, where what happens in one area affects the others. One of the major reasons why housing is so expensive in New York City is because so little housing is being built in its suburbs, particularly on Long Island and in Westchester County. Whatever is happening to moderate housing costs in Austin is the sum of urban and suburban development, not the result of Austin’s growth alone.
The pattern is similar in Minneapolis. Minneapolis has built a decent amount of housing over the past decade — although no more than many other cities — and both rental and sales price growth has been moderate by national standards. But here, even more than in Austin, all of the growth has been in multifamily housing — and nearly all in large apartment projects, not (as the authors of "Sprawl is Still Not the Answer" claim) small buildings. That's significant, because the large apartment buildings being built in Minneapolis and elsewhere tend to appeal to a very narrow demographic, young college-graduate singles and couples. Furthermore, after a dramatic spurt in permits a few years ago, housing production in Minneapolis has all but collapsed since peaking in 2019. Austin’s pattern has been similar, but less dramatic (figure 4). This may reflect exhaustion of easily-developed sites, or it may reflect overbuilding of a particular type of housing for which demand may be limited, particularly as remote and hybrid work become more customary in many economic sectors. In a market economy like the United States, flat or declining rents may actually be a double-edged sword, since, in conjunction with rising development costs, they can result in reducing profitability and discouraging developers from starting new projects.
Figure 4: Building permits by year in Austin and Minneapolis relative to 2015 baseline. SOURCE: Graphic by author using data from HUD, State of the Cities Data SystemNOTE: Since the numbers are so different in the two cities, a graph showing absolute numbers would be unreadable. Instead, I show permits for each year as a ratio of the number of permits issued in 2015.
More significantly, the reality and importance of simultaneous urban and suburban growth is as true for Minneapolis as it is for Austin. Some 59% of the building permits issued in Hennepin County from 2015 to 2024 were in the suburbs, including 94% of the permits issued for single family homes. [1]
This brings out another important reality of urban densification: nearly all the people who move into the new apartment buildings in the cities, are in 1 or 2 person households. For example, 80% of all added households in Minneapolis between 2013 and 2023, and 85% in Austin, have been 1 or 2 person households. By contrast, almost 2/3 of the growth in Richardson, Texas, a fast-growing suburb of Dallas, over the same period was in households with three or more members. Those families are not looking to live in small apartments in five story buildings.
The suburban growth in the Sunbelt may be “sprawl,” if one is going to use that term to describe any and all greenfields development, but as Figure 5 from Princeton, Texas (a city featured in Daugherty’s article) shows, it is very compact sprawl. The homes shown in the image are built at a gross density including streets, playgrounds and such, of roughly five units per acre, and a net density within each block, based on 6250 square foot lots, of seven units per acre. Not quite urban multifamily densities, to be sure, but if one accepts the proposition that there is a continued demand for single family homes, a highly efficient use of land.
Figure 5: New Subdivisions in Princeton, Texas. Source: Google EarthIn the final analysis, it is not a question of whether to build in the cities or in the suburbs, but to do both. While Daugherty gives a nod to building in cities, he points out that “Even if all the regulatory restraints were removed tomorrow, developers couldn’t find enough land to satisfy America’s housing needs inside established areas.” That’s true, because the constraint isn’t the number of square miles inside a given city, but the feasibility of assembling and redeveloping the land, and the ability to not only build the number of homes people need, but the diversity of home types they want. It is ironic — as the numbers for Austin and Minneapolis show — that a future in which housing needs are met entirely in central cities would replace the much-deplored tyranny of the single family home with a new tyranny of apartment living.[2] But that doesn't mean we shouldn't build what we can inside central cities, including redevelopment and infill housing.
A strategy of both/and should not, and need not, be a mindless one. As I and others have pointed out, the suburbs of America’s cities offer greater opportunities for densification than the cities themselves. Larger suburban lots offer ample scope for ADUs, while miles of vacant or underutilized commercial land along arterial roads, shopping malls and office parks offer room for large-scale development of multifamily housing. Thoughtful planning and environmental management can preserve stream corridors, wetlands, forests and high productivity farmland, while ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and amenities are in place for future development.
A facile “sprawl bad, urban infill good” mantra is no more meaningful than saying “we need more sprawl.” We do need to fill in, but we also need to grow out. What we really need are more productive conversations about how to do both well, rather than more pointless examples of people talking past one another.
[1] To compare metro totals to city totals in the case of Minneapolis would be misleading, because the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro is multipolar, compared to the unipolar Austin metro. In all likelihood, though, the suburban share of metro development as a whole is probably even larger than this data suggests.
[2] For a variety of reasons, which are beyond the scope of this piece but which I hope to touch on in a future piece, we are unlikely to see much so-called “missing middle” housing actually built.
Category Housing Land Use Urban Development 11 minutesNo WhatsApp? No Problem – Guest Chats Are Coming - MacRumors
According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta for Android contains references to so-called "guest chats," which lets users send a link to an online chat, where the "guest" doesn't have to have an app on their device or even need to be in possession of a WhatsApp account.
To kick off a guest chat, the WhatsApp user has to invite someone from their contacts who doesn't have the app installed and share a chat link. When the recipient opens the link, they're granted access to an online end-to-end encrypted chat with the sender – likely via an interface similar to WhatsApp Web.
As you might expect, there will be a few limitations to guest chats. Users won't be able to share media files like photos and videos, and guest chats won't support voice or video messages – only straight text. The mode will also be strictly one-to-one, so no group chats either.
Further technical details on how the guest chats will be implemented have yet to be made available, but the general idea lines up with parent company Meta's efforts to comply with EU rules on platform interoperability. WhatsApp has been working on the ability to integrate third-party chats from iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, Signal, and others for some time.
It's not clear when guest chats will become generally available, but barring some insurmountable technical hurdle, expect the feature to arrive in a future WhatsApp update for both Android and iOS.Tag: WhatsApp
This article, "No WhatsApp? No Problem – Guest Chats Are Coming" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
No WhatsApp? No Problem – Guest Chats Are Coming - MacRumors
According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta for Android contains references to so-called "guest chats," which lets users send a link to an online chat, where the "guest" doesn't have to have an app on their device or even need to be in possession of a WhatsApp account.
To kick off a guest chat, the WhatsApp user has to invite someone from their contacts who doesn't have the app installed and share a chat link. When the recipient opens the link, they're granted access to an online end-to-end encrypted chat with the sender – likely via an interface similar to WhatsApp Web.
As you might expect, there will be a few limitations to guest chats. Users won't be able to share media files like photos and videos, and guest chats won't support voice or video messages – only straight text. The mode will also be strictly one-to-one, so no group chats either.
Further technical details on how the guest chats will be implemented have yet to be made available, but the general idea lines up with parent company Meta's efforts to comply with EU rules on platform interoperability. WhatsApp has been working on the ability to integrate third-party chats from iMessage, Telegram, Google Messages, Signal, and others for some time.
It's not clear when guest chats will become generally available, but barring some insurmountable technical hurdle, expect the feature to arrive in a future WhatsApp update for both Android and iOS.Tag: WhatsApp
This article, "No WhatsApp? No Problem – Guest Chats Are Coming" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums