Apple News 24 Hours

Last updated: September 2, 2026, 6:44 AM ET

Apple Leadership Transition

John Ternus officially became Apple's CEO today, with Tim Cook transitioning to a new role as executive chairman. In his first memo to Apple employees as CEO, Ternus thanked Cook and recognized that Apple is "so lucky to have had a CEO who led with his values and with such decency." He also teased a "huge launch" next week that's going to be "phenomenal." The new CEO's bio page on Apple's website reveals some of his key priorities, as noted by Myke Hurley. Ternus also joined Xwith his first post simply reading "hello," and his bio is simply " CEO." His first day included more executive changes,with former CFO Luca Maestri taking another step back from the company. Ternus's first memo also thanked employees for making the company what it is today, and his address to staff gave a first hint of his vision. His X account has already shared his first post saying hello to the world, anda new post from a reputable source confirms his handle is @johnternus.

Executive Compensation

Apple has set new CEO John Ternus' target compensationat $58 million, according to an updated SEC filing. The package includes $58 million in salary and target stock awards. Meanwhile, Tim Cook was paid approximately $74.3 millionthrough 2025 with his salary and stock grants and bonuses. Former CFO Luca Maestri is winding down his timeat the company, moving on from managing the company's Corporate Services. Apple's leadership pagehas had its biggest change in years, as Ternus and Cook both get new roles. A vintage video of Steve Jobs from 1996has resurfaced, adding some historical context to the transition. Bloomberg carries a piece noting the astonishing gains made by Apple stockholders during the time when Tim Cook was CEO—the cumulative gain was 2,275%,but Ternus doesn't have to emulate him. The pay package detailswere revealed in a new regulatory filing today, showing Ternus is receiving $58 million in salary and target stock awards.

Apple Maps Updates

Apple Maps has been updated, renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America"for US users, following pressure from President Donald Trump anda change to the GNIS. The move follows Trump's order, and searches for "Lake America"now come up with the Great Lake. Apple Maps users in the United States will now see"Lake America" instead of "Lake Ontario" for the Great Lake on the border of Ontario and New York, as noted by MacRumors. If you head to Apple Maps today, you'll notice that Apple has started renaming the lake, according to 9to5Mac.

iPhone Air Review

It's been almost 12 months since Apple launched the iPhone Air,and Mac Rumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using it daily since launch. His one-year review covers the $999 super-thin iPhone's real-world durability, battery life,and whether it holds up as a daily driver. Amazon and Best Buy this week have multiple discounts on the M4 iPad Air,including the best discounts since summer price hikes. Deals also include the iPhone Air up to $359 off,iPhone 17 Pro,M5 MacBook Air $240 off,and Air Tag.

Upcoming Hardware

Next week,the iPhone Ultra will be unveiled at Apple's September event,and a new post from Tom's Guide reveals new detailson specs,multitasking,launch timing,and more. Apple's foldable"iPhone Ultra" will likely support MagSafe charging,according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. iPhone 18 Pro colors could include Dark Cherry, Sky Blue,and Black,witha Silver option unlikely to make the final lineup,according to the leaker. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Maxmay ship in only three colors once again,as a questionable leaker believes one of four colors may not make it to launch. A new post from a reputable Weibo leaker names thre colors,as reported by 9to5Mac. Apple Watch Series 12 is coming next week,launching at the September event alongside three new featuresincluding new health sensors and fitness tracking capabilities. As noted by Broadcasts developer Steven Troughton-Smith,many Liquid Glass inter macOS Golden Gateseems to hint at a MacBook Pro with OLED display. Apple has quietly tried to correct the specifications of its new Mac Studio,removing references to PCIe 6.0from its promotional material.

App Store Changes

Apple started informing developers today that universal mac OS apps on the Mac App Store that require mac OS 13 or later can now drop support for Intel-based Macs. Apple today informed developers that universal Mac App Store apps that require mac OS 13 or later can remove support for Intel-based Mac computers,as noted by MacRumors. This marks another step in Apple's transition away from Intel silicon. Ford has chosen Apple Mapsover Google for its new EVs,explaining why it opted for Apple's navigation system for its Fathom electric vehicles.

AI and Software Launches

Anthropic today introduced Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1,which the company says are the"world's most advanced models for coding and knowledge work." According to Anthropic,Claude Fable 5.1 offers lower costs and fewer false positives. Three months after first releasing Fable,Anthropic is enhancing Claude with its new Fable 5.1 model upgrade,details of which include improved reasoning capabilities. Meta is launching Muse Voice Transcribe,its first real-time audio perception model that brings multilingual,streaming transcription to Meta AI for Mac,Muse Code,and developers through the Meta Mode. Perplexity has launched what it calls hybrid computefor its Mac app,meaning that it should automatically detect sensitive information and processes it locally while sending less sensitive tasks to cloud models. That changes today with hybrid compute for Mac,a privacy-minded approach to AI processing. Mozilla today said it is adding an ad blocker to Firefox for iOS,allowing users to block many third-party ads and ad-related trackers using the Easy List filter list and Apple's Web Kit framework.

Sonos Product Launch

Sonos has introduced the Beam Ultra soundbar and Ace Ultra headphonesalongside Sonos,a rebranding of its audio platform that adds AI assistants and Chat GPT music control. Sonos has announced two new hardware products today—Ace headphones anda Beam soundbar with"Ultra" branding—alongside rebranding its software as [Sonos 27](https://headlinesbriefing.com/mobi/9to5mac/sonos-ace-ultra-and-beam-ultra-unveiled-f6204fd9.Todayalongsidelaunchingtwonewproducts,SonoshasunveiledSonos27brandingfor its software platform,which includes four new features including improved multi-room audio and enhanced voice control.

Apple Vision Pro and Healthcare

The first surgery using Stryker's Sport Suite Vision app on Apple Vision Prohas been completed at Duke Health,demonstrating its utility in surgical settings. Recent layoffs of Apple employees working on the Vision Pro were broader than previously thought,accordingto Bloomberg,signaling potential challenges for the headset's roadmap.

Legal and Security

Multiple Dropbox users have been emailed by the cloud storage company to advise them that a security breachsaw unauthorized access,seemingly caused by an egregious authentication failure involving Lenovo IDs. OpenAI yesterday denied Apple's allegations of trade secret theft,telling a federal court that Apple failed to show any confidential information was actually stolen by its former employees,accordingto [MacRumors](https://headlinesbriefing.com/mobi/macrumors/openai-says-apples-trade-secret-suit-is-mess-of-apples-own-making-f76b101c.WetalkedtoanattorneyaboutOpenAI'sclaimsthatAppledidn'tprotecttradesecretssufficiently,sotheywerefairgame—apositionthatprobablywon'tworkoutthat well for OpenAI. Apple yesterday presented what it said was "shocking evidence"based on analysis of a MacBook,escalating the trade secret dispute between the two companies.

Apple TV and Media

Apple TV has just added a large batch of 15 classic moviesto its library,available free for subscribers. Apple TV kicks off fall with several high-profile premieres in September,including a Ryan Reynolds film,as [detailed by 9to5Mac](https://headlinesbriefing.com/mobi/9to5mac/apple-tv-september-2024-new-shows-movies-f9fd5a7c.Listentoarecapofthetopstoriesofthedayfrom9to5Maconthe9to5MacDailypodcast,available on iTunes and Apple's Podcasts app,Stitcher,and more.

Miscellaneous Apple News

Apple has been continuing to research Air Pod design in the hunt for the best fit for most users,but now it may have a way to personalize the earbuds—a new patent for custom-fit fabric AirPodssuggests future Air Pods could be tailored to individual ears. Apple promised a billion dollars of investment and ultimately 3,000 new jobs for North Carolina in 2021,but the company does not appear to have hired one person,nor even broken ground for its proposed [North Carolina campus](https://headlinesbriefing.com/mobi/appleinsider/apple-still-hasnt-started-north-carolina-campus-287eb36f.Here'sacoolnewthinglaunchingtoday:Cibby,a beautifully designed iOS app for physical video game collectors. Apple's M5 Pro Mac mini is eligible for a $30 preorder discountat Amazon leading up to its official Sept. 22 release. 9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle,the only Apple Unified Platform,which discusses why Apple's making big changes to its bug bounty program.