This past Tuesday, WhatsApp announced on their blog that they were launching a version of the popular messaging app for the Apple Watch.

Today we are announcing a big upgrade for your wrist — the all-new WhatsApp app for your Apple Watch*. This new experience will help you stay on top of your chats without needing to pull out your iPhone.

Prior to the release of an official app for the Apple Watch, WhatsApp users were able to view and reply to messages on their watches, but that was about the extent of what they could do.

However, the new WhatsApp app will enable users to receive call notifications, read full messages, record and send voice messages, react to messages, view chat histories, and have an improved media experience.

In order to install WhatsApp for the Apple Watch, users will have to have an Apple Watch Series 4 (or newer) running watchOS 10 or later.

John Voorhees, writing for MacStories.net:

If there’s a theme surrounding the 26.1 updates to Apple’s OSes, it’s that the company is listening to its users. Tinted Liquid Glass, the return of Slide Over, and the updates to the very niche Local Capture feature are all great examples of Apple’s engineering teams turning around meaningful updates to its OSes based on feedback from users. That’s great to see, and a trend that I hope continues long into the future.

While the 26.1 versions of Apple operating systems were released this past Monday, November 3rd, I recently came across John Voorhees’ post on MacStories.net and think it summarizes the updates very nicely. The screenshots that are included are a nice touch, as well.

Regarding the 26.1 updates, the ones that stick out the most to me are the return of Slide Over in iPadOS 26.1 and the ability to choose between Clear and Tinted versions of Liquid Glass in both iOS and iPadOS 26.1.

While I personally don’t mind the default, Clear, version of Liquid Glass, I can see how having the option to apply a darker tint to it would be ideal for many users. Slide Over, on the other hand, is a feature that I am very happy to see returning with iPadOS 26.1, as it’s something that I use pretty frequently on my iPad Mini. In fact, I still haven’t upgraded to iPadOS 26, partly as I didn’t want to lose the ability to use Slide Over for multitasking.

Overall, though, it’s definitely nice to see that Apple is really taking user feedback to heart and implementing changes that users have requested.

Chance Miller, writing at 9to5Mac.com:

Apple has launched a dramatic new web interface for the App Store. You can now get the full App Store experience right in your browser, with dedicated pages for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision, Watch, and TV app libraries.

Previously, Apple’s “apps.apple.com” domain simply redirected you to a generic page about the App Store on Apple’s website. Now, it takes you to a full-fledged version of the App Store you can browse on your computer.

This new web-based interface for the App Store looks pretty good and feels very much like the real-deal App Store that you would have access to on a Mac with all of the usual details (ratings and reviews, screenshots, related apps, etc.) included on an app’s page.

I’m a bit late on posting about this, but it looks like the iPadOS 26.1 beta brings back Apple’s “Slide Over” multitasking feature. This is something that I frequently use on my iPad Mini so I was disappointed when I saw that it was removed in iPadOS 26.

Here’s an article by Jason Snell of SixColors that discusses “Slide Over”, as well as other updates that are included in the iPadOS 26.1 beta.

I was listening to the MacBreak Weekly podcast the other day and heard Jason Snell mention an article from iFixit, where they put one of Apple’s new TechWoven cases through some durability tests. In short, the TechWoven cases seem to be more durable (and stain resistant) than the FineWoven cases that Apple had previously released a few years back.

While I’ve never actually used a FineWoven case, I did purchase a TechWoven case when I picked up my iPhone 17 Pro Max and the material does feel pretty durable. iFixit mentioned that it’s almost feels like “ruggedized plastic” instead of fabric, which I would agree with. It definitely feels nice in the hand and slides into and out of pockets pretty easily, as well.

That said, I purchased an Apple Silicone case a few days ago, as I like to use alcohol wipes to clean my phone and I feel as though the TechWoven cases aren’t great for that sort of thing due to the fabric material that they’re made from.

Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. plans to unveil a long-anticipated overhaul of the iPhone SE in the coming days, a move that will modernize its lower-cost model in a bid to spur growth and entice consumers to switch from other brands.

The company expects to announce the device as early as next week, ahead of it going on sale later in the month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Apple is unlikely to hold a launch event for the device, opting to reveal it on its website instead, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

The current iPhone SE was released back in March, 2022 so it’s been a few years without a refresh. It will be interesting to see what the newest iteration of the iPhone SE looks like and what spec upgrades it receives, especially given the recent roll-out of Apple Intelligence.

The current iPhone SE contains an Apple A15 Bionic chip, which powered the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Max, as well as the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, and the iPad Mini (6th Generation). The most recent Pro-model iPhones contain an Apple A18 Pro chip, with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus both contain an Apple A18 chip.

Gurman also shared, in his article and on Twitter, that there are stock shortages of several Apple devices, including some of the ones mentioned above:

Mentioned in the story as well: Major shortages hitting the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, MacBook Air, 11-inch iPad Air and 13-inch iPad Air, in addition to the SE.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming week with the new iPhone SE!

Bill Gates’ latest book, Source Code: My Beginnings launched today. From the GatesNotes.com website:

Source Code is the story of the early part of my life, from growing up in Seattle through the beginnings of Microsoft. I share what it was like to be a precocious, sometimes difficult kid, the restless middle child of two dedicated and ambitious parents who didn’t always know what to make of me. In writing the book I came to better understand the people that shaped me and the experiences that led to the creation of a world-changing company.

The book is available from a variety of sellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books, among others.

Gates was actually in Boston yesterday, as a part of a book tour, to discuss the memoir with Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. at the Emerson Colonial Theater. My brother and I attended the discussion and I thought it was interesting to hear about the early parts of Gates’ life, prior to his days at Microsoft. The two discussed Gates’ childhood and upbringing, his fascination with computers at an early age, his meeting of Paul Allen at school, and his thoughts and views on a variety of other topics.

Mark Gurman, of Bloomberg, on Twitter:

A notable change coming to AppleCare+ next week: Apple is dropping the 2-3 year pay in advance option at physical retail stores and on devices and will only offer monthly and annual subscriptions. You’ll still be able to get those multi-year plans on the online store.

If true, this is just one of the many services out there that will have gone to a subscription model. I do wonder, though, if users will be able to purchase an Apple product at a physical retail store and then make a one-time AppleCare+ purchase online, after-the-fact, like users can currently do.

As it stands today, if a user wanted to purchase AppleCare+ for an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, the one-time purchase price would be $199 for two years of coverage. The monthly option for the same coverage would cost $9.99/month, which would renew until cancelled. Assuming the user kept paying for monthly coverage for at least two years, they would end up spending $239.76, which ends up being $40.76 more expensive than purchasing the one-time plan for two years of coverage.

Whether or not Apple will update their pricing remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out and what users think of the changes.

Happy Halloween!

If you haven’t seen it yet, today’s Google Doodle celebrates Halloween with the latest edition (Part 3) of the “Magic Cat Academy” game which follows a cartoon cat that fights off ghosts and other adversaries using various magic spells that are launched from its magic wand.

Each ghost or adversarial creature that appears in the game will have one or more symbols displayed above it that the player must draw on the screen in order to cast a defensive spell to fend it off. Each game contains several levels, with each increasing in difficulty due to an increasing number of creatures, with some having multiple symbols that must be drawn in order to fend them off. (Thankfully, my wife and I played the game on a touch-screen Chromebook, which saved us from having to use a trackpad or regular mouse to draw the symbols.)

For those interested, Part 3 (Halloween, 2024) of the “Magic Cat Academy” game can be played here, with Part 2 (Halloween, 2020) and Part 1 (Halloween, 2016) also being available to play.

According to a recent post on AT&T’s Newsroom blog, AT&T revealed that the company fell victim to a hacking attempt, with the hackers getting access to customer data.

The post on the “Newsroom” blog, dated July 12, 2024, reads, in-part:

Based on our investigation, the compromised data includes files containing AT&T records of calls and texts of nearly all of AT&T’s cellular customers, customers of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) using AT&T’s wireless network, as well as AT&T’s landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers between May 1, 2022 – October 31, 2022. The compromised data also includes records from January 2, 2023, for a very small number of customers. The records identify the telephone numbers an AT&T or MVNO cellular number interacted with during these periods. For a subset of records, one or more cell site identification number(s) associated with the interactions are also included.

The data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information. It also does not include some typical information you see in your usage details, such as the time stamp of calls or texts. While the data does not include customer names, there are often ways, using publicly available online tools, to find the name associated with a specific telephone number.

At this time, we do not believe that the data is publicly available.

The good news is that the data does not contain any sensitive information like Social Security Numbers and what not, nor does it contain the actual contents of calls or text messages. As well, AT&T doesn’t believe that the customer data has been made publicly available, which hopefully continues to remain the case.