1 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Apple Archive

Archives for February 2025

The high stakes for AI AlexaThe high stakes for AI Alexa
David Pierce
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
The work is mysterious and important.

And now you can try refining numbers yourself on the Lumon Industries website. It’s sort of like an unsettling version of Minesweeperthough it’d be even better played on a Lumon computer.

A screenshot from a Lumon Industries computer in Severance.
Image: Apple
iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright

7

Verge Score

A basic iPhone for unfussy people.

Allison Johnson
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
The US is considering whether UK’s Apple data encryption demand broke a treaty.

US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote in a letter that her lawyers are “working to provide a legal opinion on the implications” of the UK’s reported demand for a backdoor to all Apple users’ encrypted data breaks the Cloud Act agreement, reports Reuters.

Gabbard added that the CLOUD Act says the UK “may not issue demands for data of U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents,” nor that of “persons located inside the United States.”

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
This tripod plate hides an AirTag on your camera.

Instead of hiding an Apple AirTag in a lens cap which isn’t always attached to your camera, Elevation Lab’s new $19.99 TagVault stashes one inside of a carbon fiber composite tripod plate.

It also doesn’t permanently attach to your camera, but the plate is secured with a stainless steel crew requiring a T20 Torx screwdriver to remove it — something thieves probably don’t have immediate access to, giving you extra time to potentially retrieve your gear.

<em>It’s not immediately obvious that the TagVault tripod plate has an Apple AirTag hidden inside it.</em>
<em>The plate, made with a carbon fiber composite body, is compatible with many cameras including Sony, Canon, and Nikon models.</em>
<em>A stainless steel security screw requires a Torx wrench to remove the plate from your camera.</em>
1/3
It’s not immediately obvious that the TagVault tripod plate has an Apple AirTag hidden inside it.
Image: Elevation Lab
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Turn iMessage into the Nintendo DS’ PictoChat.

Idrees Hassan has created a free iOS app called PicoChat that recreates the Nintendo DS’ messaging experience in iMessage, as spotted by Overkill.

You can type out messages on a tiny keyboard or make drawings to send to your contacts, complete with a simulated stylus that appears onscreen as you doodle. The app generates a PictoChat-themed image of your message you can send to others, giving them a similar experience without installing the app.

Two screenshots of Idress Hassan’s PicoChat iMessage app.
Hassan previously created an e-reader app for the Panic Playdate called Playbook.
Image: Idrees Hassan