Macworld Last July, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple started investigating the use of a plastic case on an Apple Watch SE to make a watch that could compete with its cheapest rivals. In August, Gurman provided more details about the plastic Watch SE and how it could be marketed as a “kid-friendly” product. ...   Mac Central

Macworld If you wear your Apple Watch to bed and have Silent Mode activated, your morning alarm will be silent too, attempting to wake you with soft haptic taps rather than any noise. Many users find this sufficient, but others sleep through the alarm with potentially dire consequences. Apple has unveiled a new feature that should solve this problem. The upcoming watchOS 11. ...   Mac Central

Macworld The iPhones and Macs we use today aren’t mere smartphones and desktop computers—they’re the fruit of decades’ worth of research and testing behind the scenes at Apple HQ. Like most corporations in this field, Apple spends large sums of money trialing all sorts of wild and innovative prototypes. ...   Mac Central

Macworld Let’s talk about small phones. Yes, again. No, you’re obsessed with small phones. Oh, no, whoops, it is actually the Macalope. Sorry about that. The thing is, the Macalope is so old he remembers when one of the controversies around the launch of the original iPhone was speculation that Apple used a hand model with particularly large hands in order to make the iPhone seem ...   Mac Central

Macworld The Siri Remote for Apple TV isn’t for everyone. If you don’t want voice control to be the standard, then check out the Function101 Button Remote. It goes back to the classic remote design, and it even works for Apple TV and Apple TV 4K. Get one of these Apple TV Button Remotes on sale for $19.97 (reg. $29). ...   Mac Central

Macworld Apple announced on Monday that the USB-C-equipped AirPods Max will soon get an update that was inexplicably left off the USB-C model: Users will be able to play lossless audio and ultra-low-latency audio through a wired connection. The new feature will be in a firmware update when iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 are released next week. ...   Mac Central

Macworld Stellar sound, noise cancelation, and a hearing aid for $170? That’s right, Amazon has slashed the price of AirPods Pro 2 to its 2025 low, a massive $79 discount (32 percent) off its MSRP. When we reviewed the AirPods Pro 2, we absolutely loved them, giving the buds a 4.5-star rating and our Editor’s Choice label. ...   Mac Central

Macworld As AI continues to dominate Apple’s strategic roadmap, a new report indicates the company wants to reimagine the Apple Watch as a camera-equipped AI assistant. The iPhone and Mac ranges have already gained AI features, thanks to the (gradual and frequently delayed) rollout of Apple Intelligence. ...   Mac Central

Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros High-capacity battery pack Wireless charging inside the case Affordable Cons Bulky Our Verdict For little investment you get a lot of battery power from the Newdery Battery Case, but at the price of added weight and bulk. ...   Mac Central

Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Power bank in a protective phone case Robust two-part design Magnetic back Cons 50% max refill in tests No wireless charging Our Verdict This iPhone 16 case features a built-in power bank that should get you through the day. ...   Mac Central

Macworld The hash symbol – also known as the pound/number sign, or even the octothorp(e) as Macworld reader Keith points out – was one of the more rarely used special characters until Twitter and Instagram came along. Now you can barely avoid the symbol widely known as the hashtag and ubiquitous on social media. ...   Mac Central

Macworld There’s more to life than money, and heaven knows Apple isn’t short of a dollar or two. So when I hear that the company’s TV+ streaming service is losing $1 billion a year, my first reaction isn’t shock, but intrigue. Is TV+ worth all that lost cash? On reflection, I think it is. ...   Mac Central

Macworld Is your plant dying? Why are the leaves yellow? Wait, is it a fern, a rabbit foot fern? Those are different.  Taking care of your houseplants can be kind of tough. AI can make it easier. Plantum is an AI plant care tool that can identify plants from a single picture, diagnose any problems, and even help you take care of them. A lifetime subscription also just went on sale for $14. ...   Mac Central

Macworld There’s nothing quite as panic-inducing as seeing your iPhone battery die and receiving that dreaded ‘Low battery’ notification on your screen, especially if you’re out running errands or traveling. You might be able to save it from complete battery depletion with a cable, but that would require an outlet. ...   Mac Central

Macworld If you’ve ever hesitated to take your expensive, brand-new MacBook on the road, we get it. You don’t want to toss a $2,000 laptop into your backpack and pray it doesn’t get dinged or spilled on at the coffee shop. That’s where this grade-A refurbished 2017 MacBook Pro can be of service. At just $329. ...   Mac Central

Macworld Keeping your devices charged and ready to go is essential, but nowadays, most tech products don’t come with power adapters anymore, including the iPads and iPhones Apple sells. Even if you don’t need one, this 140W Apple USB-C power adapter is on sale right now for $50, a great price for the most powerful power adapter Apple sells. ...   Mac Central

Reason Studios has updated Reason to v13.2. Reason 13.2 Release Notes New Features Windows on Arm compatibility via Prism (info). The Favorite tag in the Device Palette... Read More   KVR Audio

BLEASS has released Tides, a new plugin that 'washes away the dry, uninspiring echoes of conventional delay processors with wave after wave of richly characterful reflections'. Here's what... Read More   KVR Audio

Dear Reality has announced that all their plugins are now available for free. Since Dear Reality started more than 10 years ago and joined the Sennheiser Group in 2019, Immersive... Read More   KVR Audio

Klevgrand has announced the release of Elpiano, a new electric piano plugin for macOS and Windows. Swedish for electric piano, Elpiano is designed to capture the authentic feel and... Read More   KVR Audio

Klamper Audio has unveiled MixDrum 2, a drum processing plugin designed to shape and enhance drum sounds with a streamlined workflow. Aimed at producers, mixing engineers, and sound... Read More   KVR Audio

Korg has announced that Module v5.0 for iOS (Module / Module Pro) is now available, with a new drum module recorded in top-tier recording sessions. Gadget for iOS has also been updated to v6.2.0.... Read More   KVR Audio

Orchestral Tools has released Berlin Free Orchestra, describing it as 'a complete sampled orchestra in pro-grade quality for free'. Berlin Free Orchestra includes strings, woodwinds,... Read More   KVR Audio

Vox Samples has released Bouncer, free sidechain effect plugin for macOS and Windows available in VST3, AU and AAX formats. Instant Sidechain with our free Bouncer Sidechain Effect... Read More   KVR Audio

Scaler Music has released Scaler 3. The software has been rebuilt and re-imagined with new features including VST/AU plugin hosting, multitrack operation, a unified 'Motions' system of performances,... Read More   KVR Audio

Vengeance Sound has updated Vengeance Producer Suite - Avenger 2 to v2.4.0. 2.4.0 Release notes Added: Added new ARP mode: 'Custom'. This new mode allows you to define new patterns freely... Read More   KVR Audio

Niu plusplus has announced the release of WavetableSampler, a tool for capturing wavetables designed to be efficient, fast, and professional. WavetableSampler provides waveform snapshots... Read More   KVR Audio

Nikolozi has updated Mela, a modular AUv3 plug-in for iOS and macOS, to version 6.3. New Modules Group Module The module graduated from Mela Lab. It has also moved to Collection 0 from... Read More   KVR Audio

Focusrite has released a firmware update for their Scarlett 18i20 audio interfaces, increasing the amount of connectivity over the dual ADAT ports from 8 channels of inputs and outputs to 16... Read More   KVR Audio

OSC Audio has updated their Studio Reverb Bundle to v1.5.1 with changes to all three reverbs, springVerb, spaceVerb, and plateVerb. The v1.5.1 update introduces AAX, iOS 18 compatibility,... Read More   KVR Audio

Gooey has announced that Apotheca has been updated to v1.0.9 and is now available as an AAX plugin for both Windows and macOS users. Since Apotheca's initial release, the Gooey team... Read More   KVR Audio

Fanan team has released Blue Lue, a free style slot driven drum machine for Windows. Blue Lue functions as a MIDI tool sequencer that makes no sound but powers the user's favourite... Read More   KVR Audio

illements has released Drop The Bass 01, a free VST3/AU ROMpler plugin featuring 100 multi-sampled bass presets for dance music production. Designed for producers seeking ready-to-use... Read More   KVR Audio

Soundpaint 4.0 is now available as a free download for macOS and Windows. The technology for 4.0 has been almost 2 years in the making and we're so thrilled to finally make it available... Read More   KVR Audio

Woodman's Immaculate Maple Syrup Studio has released WoodSynth 4.0 for macOS and iOS. WoodSynth is a multi-layer, MPE and MIDI V2 synthesizer with a versatile feature set. New... Read More   KVR Audio

Q-Audio has updated JustBeat, their AI-driven Techno Drums/Beat and Rumble Generator plugin, to version 1.3 (Windows VST) with visual re-styling, fixes and improvements. Changes in 1.3... Read More   KVR Audio

SonaMetro has updated Guitar Notebook to version 3.0 for iPhone, iPad, and Mac on the App Store, introducing the ability to record multiple audio files on a single page, so songwriters can capture... Read More   KVR Audio

Crocus Soundware has released Liminal: Whispering Strings for Kontakt, a sample library featuring violin, viola and cello. They say: This is a library of intimately recorded string... Read More   KVR Audio

Sonicbits has released updates for Exakt and the free Exakt Lite FM synths. Changes in Exakt 1.3.0 In addition to a few corrections, another notable feature has been added. Exakt... Read More   KVR Audio

VGTrumpet has released VG Jazz Alto Saxophone Virtual Instrument as a VST / AU plugin, and standalone application. Features Six of the most common types of saxophone style... Read More   KVR Audio

Bertom Audio has released Phantom Center v2.0.0, an upmixing stereo imager plug-in that works by extracting the phantom center from a stereo signal (this is not mid/side). Changes... Read More   KVR Audio