Macworld It’s December, and that means we can expect a slew of end-of-year awards features–which is usually good news for big companies like Apple. But not all awards, it turns out, are positive. The hugely popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, this week posted his Smartphone Awards 2025, and Apple topped four out of 10 categories. ...

Macworld Earlier this year, CarPlay – Apple’s infotainment system for cars – received a major update with the first release of iOS 26. Not only did it gain the new Liquid Glass interface, but it has also received features such as widgets on the Home Screen, video streaming over AirPlay when the car is parked, Live Activities, and more customizations. With iOS 26. ...

Macworld According to 9to5Google, the latest developer test built (Canary) of Android includes a new feature that should make it easier to switch between iPhone and Android devices. The corresponding feature on iPhones should roll out in a coming iOS 26 update. ...

Macworld The nominees for the 83rd Annual Golden Globes have been announced, and Apple TV is well represented with 14 nominations. Puribus and Severance led the way for Apple, with multiple nominations in multiple categories. ...

Macworld Much talk in Silicon Valley lately has focused on the timing of Apple boss Tim Cook’s retirement. At the age of 65, and having publicly discussed his departure as far back as 2021, he isn’t going to be presenting keynote videos forever. But while the CEO insists he isn’t leaving just yet, it’s striking how many other senior Apple executives are. ...

Macworld Reuters reports that Russia has blocked usage of Apple’s FaceTime app at the network level, leaving users in the country who try to connect via Apple’s encrypted video platform with a “User unavailable” message. ...

Macworld Apple on Thursday announced the winners of its annual App Store Awards. From the 45 finalists that the company announced in November, 17 developers were recognized for “their technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact. ...

Macworld The original iPhone SE from 2016, one of Apple’s most popular handsets of all time, has finally been declared obsolete. This is bad news for anyone who still uses the phone because it is no longer eligible to receive repairs and battery replacements from Apple Stores and authorised service partners. ...

Macworld Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that a key Apple executive is leaving the company (no, it’s not Tim Cook). Alan Dye, who leads Apple’s user interface design team, is leaving Apple Park in Cupertino for the Ravenswood Slough in Menlo Park and the headquarters of Meta, where he will lead “a new design studio,” said Gurman, and will be “in charge of design for hardware, ...

Macworld The latest version of the ChatGPT iPhone app contains within its code an unused (as of yet) image that seems to indicate upcoming Apple Health integration. The image shows the main Health icons, surrounded by several health category images: steps, activity, respiratory, hearing, sleep…and a carrot, for some reason (there is no carrot icon in the Health app). ...

Native Instruments has announced the release of Absynth 6, a major update to the company's long-standing semi-modular synthesizer. Developed in partnership with original creator Brian Clevinger, the new version modernizes the instrument's architecture with an AI-powered browsing system, full MPE integration, and expanded multichannel capabilities. ...

Ocean Swift has announced the release of Tyrian Tine, a free Kontakt NKS instrument for generating randomized bell and chime tones. Its asymmetric dual-layer engine pairs a wavetable oscillator - with purposeful instability, morphing, and controlled randomization - with a sample oscillator curated from bells, kalimbas, music boxes, and other metallic oddities. ...

The Audio Firm has announced the release of Furnace, a three-way saturation processor with mid-side processing that delivers the authentic sound of tape, transformers or tube saturation in a single plugin, taken directly from real iconic gear and modelled with The Audio Firm's custom real-time neural networks. ...

AURA Plugins has announced the Clavia Nord 3 Editor & Librarian for Clavia Nord Lead 3 / Clavia Nord Rack 3 synthesizers and TC Electronic M-One Editor & Librarian for TC Electronic M-One / M-One XL Dual Effects Processors. ...

MathAudio has updated its Room EQ plug-in to v3.0.0. New in Room EQ v3.0.0: Supports automatic scaling for 4k monitors. Supports manual window resizing (drag the bottom right corner of the window). Supports CLAP. ...

BLVCKAudio's Ecstasy has been updated to version 1.1.0. Changelog: Two new models: Titanium and Phantom Added 'Tone' section for shaping your sound before or after saturation. Added adjustable frequency selection section for saturating lows, mids or highs. Demos have also been reset and demo time has now been set to 21 days. Read More

MusicDevelopments has updated RapidComposer to v6.0.4. This release focuses on improving stability, reliability, and workflow smoothness based on recent user feedback. What's new in v6.0.4: More reliable Undo/Redo: Several issues were fixed, including rare cases where phrases could disappear during undo operations. Undo history handling is now rock-solid. ...

Timedomain has announced the release of ACE Studio 2.0, an application for AI-powered vocal synthesis and instrument generation. The update focuses on expanding the available content library and improving production workflow, featuring additional AI Voice Models, new language support, expanded AI Instruments, and new Generative Kits, alongside workflow enhancements and seamless DAW ...

Vexon Audio has announced the release of Poly Shimmer, a multi-layer shimmer reverb designed for creators seeking evolving, harmonic ambience and cinematic sound textures. PolyShimmer features four independent shimmer layers, each tunable up to ±24 semitones, allowing users to build musical intervals or full four-note chords directly inside the effect. ...

NUSofting has updated for Mac, AU and VST3, Universal Binary 2, SixZero Space, the multi-reverb plug-in. SixZero Space aims to combine, in a single unit, the essential studio processing of the 1960s. Features include: Gain stage with limiter and saturation. High-pass filter and high-frequency boost. Spring and plate reverb, mixable. Room ambience. Full Stereo processing. ...

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: An app for choral singers who don't read music well. Snap a photo or import JPG, PNG or PDF. Touch notes in the image to hear the pitch. Not for instrumental parts - see details below. Whether you sing in a choir, or a barbershop quartet, or other vocal group,...

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: All aspiring music students understand the importance of Sargam practice. Practicing Sargams each day does wonders to your “Sureelapan� as well as confidence. Practicing every day under watchful eyes of your Guru is the ideal way. But that is difficult...

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Sound Effects: Get the simplest soundboard creation app: Load sounds, samples or songs through your iTunes library Create and edit soundboards quickly and easily Up to 8 sounds per soundboard Make the most of your screen thanks to the adaptive layout Play multiple...

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: Introducing Notes - Sight Reading Trainer, the ultimate iOS app for mastering sight reading in music! Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician, Notes is your is your tool to become the musician you were meant to be. When you are ready to...

iPhone, iPad / Education / Games, Ear Trainig: StaffWars is a game designed to help beginning and intermediate musicians learn, practice and woodshed the note names on the grand staff, treble, alto and bass clefs. THE APP for anyone who wants to master these clefs.

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Analysis: SPL Graph is an audio Sound Pressure Level (SPL) environmental noise analyzer, real-time frequency analyzer, chart recorder and data logger. It includes: Plot sound level over time Record audio while plot is running, playback to identify sounds that may have...

iPhone, iPad / Education / Sheet Music & Tablatures: PLAY FREE MUSIC SCORES Whatever instrument you play, whether it's a piano, trumpet, guitar, or harmonica, or kalimba, you will always find notes of excellent quality. • Browse the most extensive sheet music collection from MuseScore....

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Plays tuning notes for Viola (C G D A)

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: Accelerate your sight reading skills with instant feedback on timing accuracy. Our carefully graduated levels, from beginner to professional, allow you to start at your optimal skill level and progress at your own pace. You'll improve more rapidly than...

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Tuners: Sleek, efficient, and responsive, TuneWave is the no-nonsense utility that lets you tune your instrument quickly and easily. TuneWave puts everything you need front and center for optimal visibility and glanceable feedback. It can transpose if you’re using an...