Apple

That’s the question nine senators and members of Congress have asked in the wake of its decision to close Maryland’s Towson Town Center store. It was the first store to unionize, in 2022, but union staff say they’re not being allowed to transfer to other stores, while non-union employees can.

It was the top-selling phone in Q1 according to Counterpoint, with 6 percent of global sales. The 17 Pro and Pro Max weren’t far behind, with Samsung A series phones and the Xiaomi Redmi A5 also at the top. The Galaxy S26 Ultra just missed the cut, after launching in the middle of the quarter.

Bloomberg reports that Apple has held “exploratory discussions” with the chipmakers to produce the main processors for certain devices in the US, though the Cupertino company still has concerns about using non-TSMC technology. Perhaps Intel really will return to Macs next year?

Unbox Therapy published a video featuring a dummy unit of the foldable phone, which Apple is apparently set to debut this fall. I’m not sure I like the wide aspect ratio, but I guess we’ll have to see how Apple markets it if the phone is real.

After losing its contempt appeal in its ongoing dispute with Epic, Apple has asked for a stay in a mandate that would let the US Northern District Court of California court determine the fees Apple can charge for purchases made outside the App Store, 9to5Mac reports. Apple also plans to petition the Supreme Court to look at the case.

Apple Maps is expected to get a new Suggested Places feature and ads in iOS 26.5, while users in the EU could receive interoperability features, including the ability to receive notifications from a third-party smartwatch. Apple is also launching release candidates for iPadOS, tvOS, and visionOS, which are typically the last updates before a wider rollout.

With the “Create a Pass” feature, you’ll be able to import the QR code from your membership cards, tickets, and other passes to your Wallet, where you can create a custom design around it, according to Bloomberg.

While Apple TV broadcasts F1 action from Miami over the next few days, a throwback celebrating the company’s 50th birthday will be on two 963s run by Porsche Penske Motorsport competing in an IMSA event at Laguna Seca. They probably don’t have CarPlay inside, but the look is a reference to one that started running on a Porsche back in 1980.

But it won’t have apps from other developers at launch. Right now, only Epic’s own Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe are available due to the Core Technology Commission.

During Apple’s earnings call yesterday, Tim Cook said it could take “several months to reach supply demand balance.” The base Mac Mini model is currently out of stock on Apple’s website, something that Cook suggests is connected to AI usage:

Even though Valve says the Steam Controller is built for “anything running Steam,” out of curiosity, I paired my Steam Controller review unit to my iPhone 16 Pro this afternoon. Most native iOS games I tried didn’t recognize the controller. When they did, there were problems, like not being able to move my Fortnite character at all.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an earnings call that the company expects “significantly higher memory costs” in the upcoming quarter. He added that Apple will “look at a range of options” to address the global shortage.

Cook:

Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook and current Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are considering bids for the Seattle Seahawks, Front Office Sports reports.

The feature, launched in 2024, will also get Siri branding, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The changes could be part of a big camera-related push from Apple this year, as Gurman reported Tuesday that the Photos app will also be getting more AI photo editing features.

It was inevitable, but Belkin will be the first company with a case turning your tablet into Toy Story 5’s new Lily Pad character. The $49.99 case is made from EVA foam and features both a built-in carrying handle and a folding kickstand. Hopefully it doesn’t come preset to villain mode.

Apple is adding an “Apple Intelligence Tools” section to the Photos app editor, which will include four AI features: Extend, Enhance, Reframe, and Clean Up, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

We knew Ted Lasso was set to return this summer, and now Apple has released a more specific timeframe: season 4 will start streaming on August 5th. There’s also a new trailer showing that, even though Ted is in charge of a new team, things don’t seem to have changed all that much.

Apple has supposedly been working on a folding tablet since at least 2023. The rumored release has slipped from 2024, to 2026, to 2028, to 2029, and now, according to Mark Gurman, it might not happen at all. While it was a priority for incoming CEO John Ternus, its future is now in doubt:

Super cool to see how Apple’s videos come together. Here’s the actual introduction video from March, if you want to compare.

Over the last few weeks the streamer has provided updates on new seasons of Dark Matter and Silo, and now we have the first proper trailer for Star City, the For All Mankind spinoff that shows things from the Soviet perspective. It starts streaming on May 29th.

Per 9to5Mac, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian was excited to boast about Gemini’s big new customer. The upgraded Siri is still coming “later this year.”

Earlier this month, 404 Media reported that the FBI obtained deleted Signal messages saved inside an iPhone’s notification database. It looks like the iOS 26.4.2 security update addresses this, as Apple says it has fixed an issue where “notifications marked for deletion could be unexpectedly retained on the device.”

Apple’s outgoing CEO and incoming executive chairman addressed employees today about the transition, Bloomberg reports.