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New Apple CEO John Ternus greeted customers in person at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max went on sale, taking selfies and signing boxes for fans who had preordered the devices. It marked his first public product launch appearance since succeeding Tim Cook, continuing Apple's tradition of CEO-attended store openings.
Meta's Muse, an AI agent app launched earlier this month, has climbed to the top of Apple's free iPhone app rankings in the US, pushing OpenAI's ChatGPT out of first place. The surge follows Meta's expansion of Muse to Mac desktops, though that version doesn't count toward App Store rankings since it's downloaded via the web.
Google has removed the Pixel Tablet from its official store, with links now redirecting to the general landing page, even though the device will keep getting software support through 2028. The move effectively ends new sales of Google's only current tablet without an announced successor.
Former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson appeared on 9to5Mac's Overtime podcast to discuss his new book, Shop Different, covering the creation of the Apple Store, his work with Steve Jobs, and the original iPhone launch. He also addressed his departure from Apple to lead JCPenney and shared his views on Apple's current retail strategy and the rumored iPhone Duo.
Apple has begun updating early iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max pre-orders to a 'Shipped' status in the Apple Store app and on its website, with devices set to reach customers this Friday, September 18. Buyers who opted into text alerts may also get a shipping notification directly from Apple.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has opened an official online store selling branded merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, mouse mats, and even a bottle of Chardonnay. He announced the launch himself on X, describing it as a way to share some of his personality and bring fans a bit of enjoyment.
Boox has released the Note Air 6C, an update to its Note Air E Ink tablet line, featuring a processor up to 45 percent faster than its predecessor and a 40 percent boost in PDF page-turning speed. The 10.3-inch device runs Android 16 with full Google Play Store access, includes a fingerprint sensor on the power button, four microphones, and ships with the Pen3 stylus that needs no charging or pairing. It starts at $580, a $50 increase over the previous Air 5C model.
A developer building an open-source Git server on top of object storage (Tigris) found that standard Git packfiles, designed for local disk and memory-mapped access, performed poorly when objects had to be fetched via byte-range guesses from cloud buckets. After an initial filesystem-shim approach failed at production scale, they created a new columnar packfile format built specifically for object storage, which required no changes to Git clients and performed well on real-world repositories.
Sony has reached a preliminary $7.85 million settlement in Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment, a class-action lawsuit accusing it of eliminating competition in digital game sales by discontinuing vouchers that let PlayStation users buy games from other retailers. The case claims this forced customers to overpay by shopping only through the PlayStation Store. A final court hearing is set for Oct. 15 to approve the payout and distribution plan, though Sony denies any wrongdoing.
Medical apparel retailer Scrubs & Beyond is shutting down every one of its more than 100 physical stores spread across 30 states. The company has given no public reason for the closures, and as of Wednesday its customer service phone line had been disconnected.
Boox introduced three new Android 16-powered E Ink devices: the Palma 3, a palm-sized ereader now built with an anodized aluminum frame and support for the InkSense Plus stylus, plus a 6.13-inch screen, 128GB storage and a 16MP camera. The company also revealed the 10.3-inch color Note Air6 C with a Dual Notes feature and keyboard accessory, and the Note Mini C, an 8.52-inch color device aimed at mobile professionals with enterprise app access.
Because Android Auto ships as a regular Play Store app rather than a system component, it normally updates automatically in the background, but that process can stall if a phone lacks Wi-Fi access or auto-update settings are disabled. Users can check their version by searching for Android Auto in the Play Store, where an Uninstall button confirms they already have the latest release, or an Update button lets them install it manually. Devices need Android 9.0 or later, released in 2018, to receive current updates.