HTD Tech Briefs
There is always lots of tech news. I grabbed some things that I thought was interesting.
Apple bumped the Apple Music individual plan from $10.99 to $11.99 per month, citing rising licensing costs, in the service’s first price increase since October 2022. The Apple Music Family plan jumped from $16.99 to $19.99. Apple One Family went from $25.95 to $27.95, and the Premier plan moved to $39.95. iCloud+ pricing also increased across multiple countries.
Read moreA credible report suggests two Mac models in Apple’s pipeline will skip the M5 chip generation and move directly to M6. The reasoning is tied to supply chain timing and Apple’s desire to align the Mac refresh cycle with its silicon roadmap. Which specific models are affected has not been confirmed.
Read moreApple is launching a new lease-to-own program called Apple Upgrade on July 28, partnering with Klarna. It covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch: 24-month terms for iPhone and Watch, and 36-month terms for iPad and Mac. Customers can upgrade early, pay off early, or return the device. It replaces the existing iPhone Upgrade Program but drops AppleCare from the deal.
Read moreApple released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 Public Beta 2 this week. The headliner is the rebuilt Siri, which can search the web, read your screen, access personal info, and take actions across apps. Public Beta 2 follows just one week after the first public beta and is available now via Apple’s Beta Software Program.
Read moreOpenAI launched GPT-Live, a full-duplex voice model that lets ChatGPT listen and speak simultaneously; no more stilted turn-taking. Free users get GPT-Live–1 mini; paid users get the full GPT-Live–1. It includes nine remastered voices, real-time translation, and a “Hey Chat” wake word. Available across iOS, Android, and ChatGPT.com. Early users flag the model’s excessive “mhmm” habit as a quirk to iron out.
Read moreChatGPT Work combines ChatGPT with Codex so non-technical users can build documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and web apps through conversation. Separately, GPT-Live launched as a real-time voice assistant with nine voices, real-time translation, and a “Hey Chat” wake word, with GPT-Live-1 mini available on the free tier.
Read moreCNN Underscored featured the Schlage Sense Pro as one of this week’s standout product launches. The lock uses Ultra-Wideband technology (the same positioning tech behind Apple AirTags) to track your approach and auto-unlock before you reach for the doorknob. It supports the Matter smart home standard and Apple Home Key via NFC, and includes a touchscreen for PIN entry. The price is $399.
Read moreOpenAI expanded its ChatGPT Health feature to all US users 18 and older across every plan, including the free tier. The feature connects to Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and medical records through hospital systems like Epic and Oracle Health. During early testing in January, users were sending 230 million health queries per week through ChatGPT. That number has since climbed to 300 million.
Read moreGoogle rolled out a new selfie video sign-in option for personal Google accounts. Setup involves recording a short face video with guided head movements to capture multiple angles. When you need to recover access later, you record a new selfie, and Google matches it against the original. The video is encrypted when not in use, and you can delete it at any time. The feature is not available for Workspace, child accounts, or Advanced Protection Program users.
Read more