Apple has hired Google VP Lilian Rincon as its new vice president of Product Marketing for AI, the company tells me.

Apple says Rincon will lead product marketing and product management for its AI platforms, including Apple Intelligence and Siri. She will report directly to Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

I’ve written before about why CardPointers is one of my favorite apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. A recent update to CardPointers has added integrations that can be used with ChatGPT, Claude, and any MCP-compatible AI platform.

Plus, CardPointers is currently 50% off as part of the Big Spring Sale promotion, exclusively for 9to5Mac readers.

Apple released iOS 26.4 to everyone this week, bringing new emojis, updates to Apple Music, and more to iPhone users everywhere.

Now, attention is shifting to iOS 26.5 among loyal 9to5Mac readers. We’ve received a lot of questions about when the first iOS 26.5 beta will be released, so here’s what we know based on history.

It’s the end of an era: Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that the Mac Pro is being discontinued. It has been removed from Apple’s website as of Thursday afternoon. The “buy” page on Apple’s website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac’s homepage, where all references have been removed.

Apple has also confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has no plans to offer future Mac Pro hardware.

A new report from Bloomberg details that Apple recently awarded “rare bonuses to iPhone hardware designers this week.” The bonuses are said to be worth “several hundred thousand dollars” and are viewed as a way to deter employees from departing for high-paying startups like OpenAI.

Benjamin and Chance talk about the surprise AirPods Max 2 announcement, WWDC 2026 is official, and the company confirms that ads are coming to Apple Maps. Also, Bloomberg reports on the latest Siri chatbot designs coming as part of iOS 27.  

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about his trips to the Apple Store during his time in Japan. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Hot on the heels of rolling out a major update last month, Carrot Weather is back with more. A new update today adds two new features to the versatile weather app: multi-model forecasts and analysis from the Storm Prediction Center.

Apple has reached a settlement with a former employee who it says stole thousands of documents before departing for Snap.

The lawsuit was first filed by Apple in June 2025, with Apple saying engineer Di Liu stole a “massive volume” of trade secrets before departing the company for Snap.

Last December, GM began rolling out a dedicated, native Apple Music app for select Cadillac and Chevrolet cars. Now, the automaker has announced another expansion of its Apple Music app, this time to select Buick and GMC cars.

Apple today announced the “biggest update since its launch” for the Analytics platform inside App Store Connect. Apple touts that there are more than 100 new metrics, new cohort capabilities, new reports for subscriptions and benchmarks, and more.

Apple today announced that ads are officially coming to Apple Maps later this summer. In addition to that, however, the company also teased a new feature that Apple Maps should’ve added years ago: Suggested Places.

The University of Texas has announced that it is rolling out digital University IDs starting next year. According to the university, these digital IDs will support Apple Wallet integration and let students access buildings, make dining purchases, and more.

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, we have the launch of AirPods Max 2, new iPhone Fold rumors, and the MacBook Neo is a hit. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and much more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.

When Apple announced the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips this month, it also revealed a new breakdown of core types: efficiency, performance, and super. In a new interview this week, Apple is shedding more light on the motivation for these changes and what each core is designed to handle.

Mac users who prefer Gemini for their AI interactions might not have to wait much longer for a dedicated app. Bloomberg reports today that Google has quietly started beta testing an early version of a dedicated Gemini app for macOS with select users.

There are two new developments in Apple’s ongoing legal battle with health technology company Masimo over the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen feature.

First, an ITC Administrative Law Judge Monica Bhattacharyya found in an initial determination that Apple’s redesigned version of the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen feature does not infringe Masimo’s patents.

Second, the Federal Circuit has affirmed the ITC’s initial exclusion order, meaning the original version of the blood oxygen feature on Apple Watch is still banned in the United States.

One of the most exciting times of the year for Apple fans is coming soon. WWDC is held every June, and this year will mark the launch of iOS 27 and much more.

When will Apple announce and hold WWDC this year? Head below for our expectations.

Alongside the iOS 26.4 RC, Apple released the macOS 26.4 RC to developers and public beta testers today. The update comes with six changes for Mac users, all of which Apple confirmed in its release notes for the first time today.

Apple released the iOS 26.4 RC to developers and public beta testers today, setting the stage for an official release as soon as later this month.

Apple has also shared its official release notes for iOS 26.4, confirming that the update improves keyboard accuracy when typing quickly on your iPhone.

Update 1:30 p.m. ET: Spotify says the issues have been resolved. Original story below.

If you’re having trouble accessing Spotify this afternoon, you’re not alone. The streaming music service has confirmed an ongoing issue causing some listeners to be kicked off their subscription.