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You can run macOS on a Nintendo DS – and here’s how to do it
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The Nintendo DS holds a special place in many of our hearts, and if you’re lucky enough to still have one today that may be collecting dust, we’ve found a fun little project you could try with the popular handheld console. 

YouTuber Michael MJD specializes in vintage tech and often makes videos with older computers and game consoles, running contemporary software on much older, whackier hardware just for the fun of it. 

Recently, he put out a video explaining how to run macOS on a Nintendo DS, which was too delightful for me not to share. There are quite a few steps involved, but if you’ve got the time and determination, you can even start creating doodles with MacPaint! The video below goes into more detail as to how exactly you’d achieve this, and we do recommend watching it a few times to get a handle on how everything is supposed to look if you’re going to attempt it yourself. 

You’ll need your Nintendo DS, an SD card, a Macintosh Plus emulator and Mini vMac DS. Once you download the Mini vMac DS files you’ll then have to put them on the SD card and install the appropriate version of macOS (Michael uses 6.0.8, as newer versions won’t run). With that done, you can plug that bad boy into the console and wait for it to boot up macOS. 

In the video, you can see that the bottom screen on the Nintendo DS is used as the keyboard and mouse tracker once macOS boots up, with Michael using the stylus to type on the keyboard and move the mouse around on the top screen. 

Michael MJD also shows how if you press the start button on the DS it pivots between using the touch screen and using the D-pad to manipulate the mouse and select the apps available on the operating system. 

The process may seem a bit complicated at first, but it’s still rather rewarding in the end if you’ve been hanging onto your old gaming console and looking for something to do with it instead of just leaving it to collect dust. You won’t be editing videos or drafting the next best selling novel on your DS, but this is definitely a fun weekend project worth trying if you’re a Nintendo and Apple fan. 

If you’re looking to actually use the most recent version of macOS, version 14 ‘Sonoma’, you can check out our list of the best Macs and MacBooks right now – no tricky installation required!

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We’ll likely get our first look at Android 15 this week – here’s what to expect
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The first preview version of Android 15 may launch on Thursday, February 15 if a recently discovered developer comment is to be believed.

It was originally posted to Google’s Android Open Source Project website on February 13, although the page hosting the message has since been deleted. If you go to the page right now, you’ll be greeted with an error message. Fortunately, 9To5Google has a screenshot of the comment and it states, in no uncertain terms, that the “first Developer preview is scheduled for Feb 15”. They even refer to it as “Android V” which the publication explains is a reference to the system’s codename, “Vanilla Ice Cream”. 

Early Android builds are typically exclusive to Pixel devices and 9To5Google believes this will be the case with the preview. Because it is meant primarily for developers, the build probably won’t see a public release due to software instability. That said, we do expect to see people crack open the preview and spill all of its contents onto the internet, revealing what Android 15 is capable of.

It’s unknown what this early version of the OS will bring; however, we can look at previous reports to give you an idea of what may be arriving.

Features to expect

Back in December 2023, three features were found hidden in the files of a then-recent Android 14 beta that could appear to be for Android 15.

The first one is called Communal Space which lets users add widgets to the lock screen. At the time of the initial report, only Google Calendar, Google Clock, and the main Google App could be added, but we believe there's a good chance more will be supported at launch. The second is the introduction of a battery health percentage read-out akin to what the iPhone 15 has. It’ll offer a crystal clear indication “of how much your phone’s battery has degraded” compared to when it was fresh out of the box.  

Communal Space on Pixel tablet

(Image credit: Mishaal Rahman/Android Authority)

The third feature is called Private Space and, according to Android Police, may be Google’s take on Samsung’s Secure Folder. It hides apps on your smartphone away from prying eyes. This can be especially helpful if you happen to share a device with others. 

Then in January, more news came out claiming Android 15 might have a feature allowing users to effortlessly share wireless audio streams. On the surface, it sounds similar to Bluetooth Auracast, a unique form of Bluetooth LE Audio for transmitting content. We wouldn’t be surprised if it was Bluetooth Auracast considering it has yet to be widely adopted by smartphone manufacturers. 

Bluetooth Auracast being shared by two children, on over-ear wireless headphones

(Image credit: Bluetooth SIG)

The last update came in early February revealing Android 15 may soon require all apps on the Google Play Store to support an edge-to-edge mode making it a mandatory setting. The presumed goal here is to better enable full-screen viewing. Edge-to-edge is typically only seen on certain types of apps like video games. Navigation bars and thick black stripes at the top of screens could become a thing of the past as Google establishes a new optimized standard for landscape viewing on Android.

That's currently all we know about Android 15. Hopefully, that one developer's slip-up is just the start of Android 15 reveals. While we have you check out TechRadar's list of the best Android phones for 2024.

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macOS Sonoma 14.4 will bring new emojis and bug fixes soon – here’s how to try the public beta
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A new beta version of macOS Sonoma 14.4 has just been made available for the public, allowing Mac users to get an early look into what the new update may entail in its final form – as well as getting to try out some of the new features and fixes. 

Among the regular refinements and bug fixes we normally see with most small software updates like this, macOS Sonoma 14.4 also offers new emoji characters! The new emojis include a melting face (perfect for a hot day – or a response to bad news on a particularly slow work day), two hands making a little heart, and a moose, amongst others. 

The fixes address some issues reported by testers and developers from the first public beta, which include potential issues with Safari and Messages. I’ve been running on the previous public beta version, and I’ve noticed issues with my messages not syncing between my iPhone 15 and Mac Mini, and since downloading the beta I’ve noticed some improvements with getting notifications and syncing message threads, which is good news for anyone else currently experiencing that issue. 

Want to give it a go yourself? Here’s how

If you’d like to download the public beta of macOS Sonoma 14.4 yourself and give it a go, you can sign up for access straight from your device's settings menu. You can access the public beta by heading over to your System Settings, going to the software update page ‘General’ section of the menu, and clicking on the option labeled ‘Beta updates’. 

Once you do that, a small pop-up will appear to let you decide between enabling developer or public beta updates. We would recommend not selecting the developer option if you’re a regular user planning to try it on your personal Mac or Macbook because beta updates in general can be quite unstable and are not really intended for everyday use – and the developer-targeted version is liable to have even more bugs.

Plus, compared to the public beta versions of updates, developer versions are likely to have features or changes that might never be made available to the public in the long run. Instead, if you enable the public beta of Sonoma 14.4 you can get an early look at features that are more likely to be part of an actual public release. 

Via PC Tablet 

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Apple says AI features are coming to your iPhone ‘later this year’ – here’s what to expect
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For the past year or two, the world has watched as a string of incredible artificial intelligence (AI) tools have appeared, and everyone has been wondering one thing: when will Apple join the party? Now, we finally have an answer.

On a recent earnings call (via The Verge), Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that AI tools are coming to the company’s devices as soon as “later this year.” Cook then added that “I think there’s a huge opportunity for Apple with generative AI.” While the Apple chief didn’t reveal any specifics, the small amount he did discuss has already been enough to get tongues wagging and for speculation to run riot.

It’s no surprise that Apple is working on generative AI tools – Cook admitted as much back in August 2023, when he explained that Apple has been developing its own generative AI “for years.” But the latest admission is the first time we’ve seen anyone put a launch date on things, even if it is a very rough date.

Given that this is a software update (and a big one at that), it seems likely that Apple has is its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in mind. The company will use this June event to unveil its upcoming operating systems and software upgrades (like iOS 18). And with its audience mostly comprised of developers, it makes sense for Apple to tease something like generative AI that could give devs a new tool in their iOS arsenal.

As well as that, industry analyst Jeff Pu has previously claimed that iOS 18 will be one of Apple’s biggest software updates ever precisely because of its inclusion of generative AI, so Cook’s statements seem to confirm Pu’s claim. That means there could be a lot to look forward to at WWDC – and some big new features coming to your iPhone.

What's en route?

The most likely upgrade that Cook is referring to is a rebooted version of Apple's Siri voice assistant. Bloomberg's reliable Apple commentator Mark Gurman recently predicted that iOS 18 will be “one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest – in the company's history” and that this will be largely tied to a “big upgrade to Siri”.

According to another respected leaker Revegnus, Apple is building a proprietary LLM (large language model) to “completely revamp Siri into the ultimate virtual assistant”. It's about time – while Siri was impressive when it landed over a decade ago, it's since plateaued. So we can expect a much more conversational, and powerful, voice assistant by the end of 2024.

Close-up of the Siri interface

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Tada Images)

But what else might benefit from the generative AI that Apple's been working on? Messages, Apple Music and Pages are all expected to receive significant AI-based improvements later this year, with some of Apple's rivals recently giving us hints of what to expect. Google Messages will soon get added Bard powers for texting help, while Spotify has already shown that the future of streaming is AI-powered DJs.  

Lastly, there's photography and video, but it seems likely that Apple will tread more carefully than Samsung and Google here. The Galaxy S24 cameras are all about AI skills, which are something of a mixed bag. While Instant Slow-Mo (which generates extra frames of video to turn standard 4K/60p video into slow motion clips) is very clever and useful, Generative Edit opens the floodgates to digital fakery (even with its watermarks).

It'll be fascinating to see how Apple treads this line across all aspects of the iPhone. But one other key iPhone feature, privacy, could also put the brakes on Apple getting too carried away with generative AI… 

Why Apple is taking its time

Siri

(Image credit: Unsplash [Omid Armin])

Apple has been consistently criticized for not launching its own generative AI, especially as arch-rival Microsoft has been so decisive in spreading its Copilot AI to almost every aspect of Windows and its own apps.

But there’s a likely reason for Apple’s sluggishness, and it comes down to user privacy. Apple takes a strong stance on this, and often touts its devices’ privacy-protecting capabilities as one of their main benefits. AI tools are known to sweep up user data and have been known for their privacy compromises, so it’s no surprise that Apple has taken its time here, presumably to ensure its AI is as pro-privacy as possible.

As well as that, Apple doesn’t usually rush into a new market before it is ready, instead preferring to wait a little longer before blowing its rivals away with something it thinks is far superior. We saw that with the original iPhone, for example, and also with the Apple Vision Pro, and it seems that generative AI is just the latest thing to get this treatment from Apple.

Whether Apple’s own AI actually is better than the likes of ChatGPT and Copilot remains to be seen, but it looks like we’ll find out sooner rather than later.

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Apple Vision Pro blasts out of mixed reality and into real stores – here’s how to sign up for a demo
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It felt almost odd to be standing in the rain outside of Apple's glassy Fifth Avenue flagship store on Groundhog Day and not be wearing my Apple Vision Pro. I'd barely removed the mixed reality headset in my first two days of testing the Vision Pro and the real world felt a bit flat. Until, that is, Apple CEO Tim Cook opened the swinging glass doors and opened the proverbial floodgates to new and soon-to-be-new Apple Vision Pro owners.

It is something of a tradition for Cook to usher in every new product at Apple's Central Park-adjacent location but this moment was different, maybe bigger. It has been almost a decade since Apple launched a new product category (see the Apple Watch) and so expectations were high.

The crowd gathered outside was not what I'd call iPhone size – the miserable weather might have been a factor there – but there were dozens of people somewhat evenly split between media and customers.

A cluster of blue-shirted Apple employees poured out of the store, which featured the giant white outline of a Vision Pro on the storefront, and started clapping and cheering (I'd heard them practicing cheers and getting amped up from inside the store), doing their best to substitute any enthusiasm the crowd might've been lacking. This, too, is tradition and I find it almost endearing but also just a tiny bit cringe-worthy. It's just a gadget – a very expensive one – after all.

At precisely 8AM ET, Cook appeared behind the glass doors (someone had previously double-checked and triple-checked that the doors were not locked so Cook didn't have to bend down and release a latch). He swung open the door and gave a big wave.

Soon customers who had preordered the $ 3,499 (to start) spatial reality computer were filing into the store (many pausing to take a selfie with Cook), while I waited outside, getting drenched and wondering if the Vision Pro is waterproof (it's not).

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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Tim Cook acknowledges the crowd. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Cook pops out and waves. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Tim Cook was in his element. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Waiting for the launch. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

First guy on line. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Inside the store, which sits below ground level, the floor was packed. Vision Pros were lined up on stands similar to what I'd seen at launch. Below each one was an iPad, describing the experience you were about to have. Some people were seated on wooden benches near the back of the store, wearing Vision Pro headsets and gesturing to control the interfaces.

Oddly, though, not a lot of people were trying Vision Pros, but that was probably because Tim Cook was still in the room.

The scrum around him was dense, so much so that I noticed some nervous-looking Apple employees trying to gently clear a path and give the Apple leader some air. Cook, ever the gracious southern gentleman, smiled for countless photos with fans. He even signed a few things.

I stepped forward and Cook's eyes caught mine. He smiled broadly and said hello. We shook hands and I congratulated him on a successful launch. Then I gave him my brief assessment of the product: “It's incredible.” He brightened even further, “I know!” he shouted back over the din.

Apple Vision Pro store launch

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

They put some of the Vision Pros on stands. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

You cna see people in the back wearing them. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Tim Cook is surrounded. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
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Apple Vision Pro store launch

Hi, Mr. Cook. (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

There wasn't much more to say, really, and I left him to get sucked back into the crowd while I took another look at the Vision Pro sales setup. In the meantime, customers were leaving with large Vision Pro boxes they'd pre-ordered. Thousands of the mixed reality headsets are in stores and arriving at people's homes (in the US only). This will be their first experience with Vision Pro.

The good news is, as I told someone else today, there is no learning curve. The setup is full of hand-holding and using the system generally only requires your gaze and very simple gestures.

There will be comments about the weight and getting the right, comfortable fit on your head, and some may be frustrated with the battery pack and that they have to keep Vision Pro plugged in if they want to use it for more than two hours at a time.

Still, the excitement I saw at the store this morning and in Tim Cook's eyes may be warranted. This is not your father's mixed reality.

Booking your demo

For the next few days, all demos will be first-come-first-serve in the stores. However, if you can wait until after Feb 5, you can book your in-store demo by visiting the Apple Store site, navigating to the Vision Pro section, and selecting “Book a demo.” Apple will guide you to sign in with your Apple ID. You must also be at least 13 years old to go through the experience.

Demos take about 30 minutes. An Apple specialist will guide you through the setup processes, which is fairly straightforward.

You'll choose a store near you, a date, and an available time. If you wear glasses, Apple should be able to take your lenses and do a temporary measurement to give you the right lenses for the demonstration (you'll be buying your own Zeiss inserts if you buy a headset.).

After that, you can go home and figure out how to save up $ 3,500.

@techradar

♬ Epic Inspiration – DM Production

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Google Bard finally gets a free AI image generator – here’s how to try it
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Considering how popular image generating is right now, Google Bard’s recent update that adds AI image generation seems all but inevitable.

According to the official Google Bard update page, using the tool is quite simple. You can activate the AI image generator by simply entering “a few words” into the search bar, “starting with English prompts.” Then you “click ‘Generate more’ for more options and download the ones you like.”

Those generated images are stored in pinned chats, recent chats, and Bard Activity, and can be deleted from your Bard Activity by deleting the prompt that generated them.

Bard’s image generation is powered by its updated Imagen 2 model, which is meant to balance speed with quality to deliver photorealistic images. The new feature is available worldwide including in the US, except in the following regions/countries: European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the UK. It’s also only available in English and only to those 18 and above, though how Google would enforce the age restriction beyond a generic ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ question is unclear.

In terms of responsibility, Google states in its official blog that “Bard uses SynthID to embed digitally identifiable watermarks into the pixels of generated images,” which makes its AI-generated images distinct from works created by humans. Most likely this feature was developed to prevent people from using generated images for commercial use, which tracks since that would open up a legal can of worms.

Google also asserts that it seeks to limit violent, offensive, or sexual content from the training data, as well as applying filters to prevent named people from being involved in image generation. 

Bard with Gemini Pro will also be enhanced with this new update. The update page states that “Bard will be far more capable at things like understanding, summarising, reasoning, brainstorming, writing, and planning.” This upgrade to Bard’s AI is most likely what allowed Google to offer the free AI image generator tool in the first place, along with the support.

Google Bard Image Generation

We created the first two images with a simple prompt and clicked “Generate more” to see the second two. (Image credit: Future)

Google Bard is taking over 

Google has been going all in with its Bard AI, even using it to slowly replace Google Assistant, which was the tech giant’s previous answer to Apple’s Siri. It was discovered that Google changed the greeting pop-up for various devices from ‘I’m Assistant with Bard’ to simply ‘I’m Bard.’

It was also announced that Google would be removing 17 features from Assistant in the coming weeks, including playing audiobooks on Google Play Books through voice command and asking for information about your contacts. The official announcement even implied that more features would be removed.

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Apple Vision Pro review roundup: here’s what everyone thinks of the Apple headset
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The first batch of Apple Vision Pro reviews has dropped, giving us a look at what it’s like to use the headset beyond the 20 to 30-minute demos Apple has run for it previously.

The Vision Pro preorders aren’t set to arrive for weeks after the headset releases on February 2 – and we strongly advise you not to buy one of the preorders being sold on eBay for ridiculously high markups. But if you’ve been on the fence about buying Apple's mixed reality device, now is a good time to find out more about it and decide if it’s worth the $ 3,500 asking price.

Interestingly, a lot of the reviewers seem to be in agreement so far. The capabilities of the headset are apparently superb, with 3D spatial video and the intuitive eye and face-tracking control system being standouts. But the price does feel steep, especially as the Vision Pro is only at its best if you’re already deep in the Apple ecosystem with gadgets and peripherals like a Mac, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse.

Here’s our round-up of all of the full Apple Vision Pro reviews published so far.

Apple Vision Pro reviews

Tom's Guide: “A revolution in progress”

For Mark Spoonauer, the global editor-in-chief of our sister site Tom's Guide, the standout features of the Vision Pro are its eye and hand-tracking interface – which he called “amazing” – and the 3D spatial video playback, which our own Lance Ulanoff called an “immersive trip”.

Design-wise the Vision Pro was also solid, though Spoonauer noted that he had to take regular breaks from wearing the device because of the Vision Pro’s weight. The tethered battery that powers the Vision Pro could also be “annoying at times.”

Some of the software also feels like it's “still in the early stages,” with the App Store missing several notable apps at launch, and Personas (a digital stand-in for Vision Pro wearers) are “a bit unnerving to look at.”

He added that the expensive price limits the headset's initial appeal, though Spoonauer hopes Apple has a lower-cost version on the way as the Vision Pro is “the most innovative Apple product since the original iPhone.”

In a nutshell

The Good

  • Eye and face-tracking “puts the competition to shame” 
  • It’s a “multitasking champ” 
  • Immersive environments full of detail 

The Bad

  • Had to take periodic breaks because of the weight 
  • Very expensive
  • Tethered battery is “annoying” at times

WSJ: “All the characteristics of a first-gen product”

The Wall Street Journal's review is a very real-world summary of the Vision Pro's current strengths and weaknesses, with reporter Joanna Stern wearing it “nearly nonstop” for one of the testing days.

The main takeaway is that the Vision Pro is a very first-gen product that “you’re probably not going to buy”. As the review concludes, “it’s big and heavy, its battery life sucks, there are few great apps and it can be buggy”. 

Okay, so is it actually good at anything yet? Broadly speaking, feeling very sci-fi in a Minority Report sense and also being, as Stern states, “the best mixed-reality headset I’ve ever tried”. That seems to be broadly due to experiences like watching films and or your own home 3-D movies, rather than real-world productivity. 

Stern states in the review that she only “started getting real work done once I paired the Vision Pro with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse”, rather than using the built-in virtual keyboard. In other words, it feels more like a face-mounted iMac than a next-gen computer right now.

While “getting around is intuitive”, there are lots of niggles. For example, “at times, the Vision Pro’s eye tracking didn’t respond to my movements” and Stern had to “charge every two to three hours”. During FaceTime calls, friends and family concluded that the reporter looked “awful” and “frightening”. Like all mixed-reality headsets then, the Vision Pro is very much a work in progress.

In a nutshell

The Good

  • Best AR/VR headset so far
  • Intuitive interface
  • Great built-in speakers

The Bad

  • Headset is heavy
  • Virtual keyboard is limited
  • Few great apps

The Verge: “the best consumer headset anyone’s ever made” 

The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel gave the Apple Vision Pro a score of seven out of 10 in its review, calling it “an astounding product” with “a lot of tradeoffs”

App-wise, Patel says it’s “not totally wrong” to call the Vision Pro an iPad for your face. Most of the software that’s currently available are ported over from iPadOS, and most of them work like iPad apps, too. As Patel notes this means the Vision Pro is lacking when it comes to “true AR” software – that is software that has AR elements blend in and interact with the real world like, say, First Encounters on the Meta Quest 3.

Patel adds that the “iPad for your face” comparison continues to the weight of the thing – pointing out that at 600 to 650 grams it's not far from the weight of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (at 682 grams). Wearing the dual loop strap can help, but he says you can’t “reduce the overall sensation of having all that headset on your face.”

The heavy package does come with some impressive specs, however, with an “incredible display,” “convincing” video passthrough, and an M2 and R1 processor for handling any apps you throw at it. But at the end of the day, Patel doesn’t believe that using a computer in the “inherently isolating” world of VR is better than using a regular computer that doesn’t cut you off from the world around you.

In a nutshell

The Good

  • Fantastic display
  • Best passthrough on a headset
  • “Stunning” design

The Bad

  • Isolating
  • Tracking “works until it doesn’t”
  • A lot of tradeoffs

CNET: “A mind-blowing look at an unfinished future”

CNET's lengthy Vision Pro review is one of the more misty-eyed ones so far, which isn't surprising given reporter Scott Stein has been writing about mixed reality for over a decade. The conclusions about Apple's headset are familiar though; “parts of it are stunning, others don't feel entirely finished”.

Despite its many impressive moments, CNET concludes that the Vision Pro is “clearly not a device you need to get on board with now”. After only 30 minutes, “the headset feels top-heavy and pushes in on my cheeks a bit”, although it apparently works fine for short sessions.

The apps selection is also very limited right now. While “the App Store shows Vision Pro-optimized apps” the “pickings are slim”. Still, “the closest thing to a killer app the Vision Pro has is its cinema-level video playback” the review concludes. Stein says that The Way of Water looks lovely and “sometimes gives me chills”.

While the Vision Pro is “most advanced blend of mixed reality in a standalone device that I've ever experienced”, it's also blighted by the limitations highlighted by other reviews. These include some inconsistent hand- and eye-tracking, a “limited battery life” and a field of view that “feels a bit smaller than the Meta Quest 3”.

So while the Vision Pro is a “stunning look at the future”, it's also “still essentially an iOS computer inside a mixed reality VR headset”.

In a nutshell

The Good

  • Amazing micro-OLED display
  • Blends real and virtual well
  • Personal 3D memories

The Bad

  • Not many apps
  • Interface isn't always perfect
  • Extremely pricey

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Here’s what third-party iPhone app stores will look like – and how they’ll work
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Big changes are coming to the iOS App Store for users in the European Union (EU), as Apple has announced it will soon start allowing third-party app stores to distribute apps to users from a host of European nations. And now, we’ve gained our first look at what these stores could look like.

AltStore, an existing provider of “sideloaded” apps, has announced they’re working on bringing their own alternative app store to iOS. That will move the store out of its current gray area of providing unofficial apps and transform it into what its developer calls a “legitimate app marketplace“.

Right now, AltStore provides a range of apps that fall foul of Apple’s existing App Store rules. For example, it hosts Delta, a Nintendo games console emulator, and UTM, a virtual machine that allows you to run Linux, Windows and more on iOS.

AltStore’s developer did not outline exactly what changes it is planning to make, but one difference is likely to be the installation process. Right now, you have to install a server app onto your Mac or Windows PC, then connect your iOS device and install the app store from your computer. 

Once AltStore becomes has been approved by Apple as that “legitimate app marketplace,” you will likely simply be able to download the AltStore app directly to your iPhone, with no lengthy workaround process required. In theory, this will mean being able to download any apps you want, including ones that don't conform to Apple's own App Store guidelines.

The AltStore app running on an iPhone.

(Image credit: AltStore)

You'll also be able to set the likes of AltStore (assuming it gets approval) as your iPhone's default app store, and manage them in Settings. As Apple states in its explainer about the app changes, “users can manage their list of allowed marketplace developers and their marketplace apps in Settings and remove them at any time”. 

Your default third-party app store will integrate with some iPhone features like Spotlight, to help you find and use the apps. But if you delete that non-Apple App Store, this will also delete “all related data from the device and stop updates for apps from that marketplace”.

A seismic change coming to your apps

Browsing the App Store on an iPhone.

(Image credit: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The momentous change in Apple’s App Store policy will be implemented in iOS 17.4, which is currently in beta and is due for a full release in March. 

Anyone in the E.U. will be able to install apps from third-party stores, and any developer will be able to release their own app store as long as they meet Apple’s requirements for fraud prevention, customer service and experience, and can provide a €1m credit note attesting to its ability to guarantee user support. However, despite the potential for this move to upend the way European users get their apps, there are a few catches attached to it.

For instance, Apple says that restrictions you place on in-app purchases using iOS’s Screen Time feature will not work in third-party app stores. Likewise, Family Purchase Sharing will be limited, as will the Ask to Buy feature, while universal purchases – where apps you buy work across various Apple platforms – won’t be available. That’s because Apple won’t be facilitating payments on third-party stores, so won’t be able to implement these features. The company also says it won’t be able to help users with refunds, purchase history, subscription management, and more.

Apple has fought tooth and nail against this change, but its hand was forced by the E.U.’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will start levying hefty fines against companies that don’t open up their platforms from March onwards. Apple says this move is likely to provide “new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, illicit and harmful content, and other privacy and security threats,” and that it won’t be lifting its App Store restrictions anywhere outside the EU. It’s possible the company might even be able to stop you bypassing the geolocation restrictions using a VPN, too.

That said, opening up iOS in this way could lead to some more positive changes. Web browsers on iOS won’t be forced to use Apple’s WebKit engine, for example, and users will be given greater ability to change their default browser. Payment apps will also gain access to Apple’s NFC system, which could mean we start to see contactless alternatives to Apple Pay popping up.

With the EU breathing down its neck, Apple has been forced to begrudgingly make these changes. That could prompt other jurisdictions around the world to consider passing their own app store laws, finally blasting a hole through Apple’s long-standing walled garden. That’s perhaps something for the future – for now, AltStore has shown us what that future could look like.

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Worried about what apps will actually come with the Vision Pro? Here’s what Apple has planned
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Apple’s take on the virtual computing headset, the Vision Pro, will soon be in people's hands (and on their heads), but there's been some concern about what apps will actually be available to run natively – and thankfully, Apple has now given us an idea.

In an official Newsroom post, Apple stated that the Vision Pro App Store will offer “spatial computing experiences unlike any other platform.” The Vision Pro’s capabilities will allow users to experience apps in a whole new way – allowing users to scale apps to nearly any size and arrange them to anywhere in their field of vision.

These apps, which have been specially made for the Vision Pro, certainly sound exciting, but we've recently learned that major apps such as Spotify, Netflix and YouTube won't have native Vision Pro apps – at least at launch. This will be a blow to anyone wanting to use the Vision Pro as a media player, so what exactly can we expect app-wise?

An indication of what kind of apps users can expect

Vision Pro users will be able to experience productivity, communication, entertainment (including streaming), and gaming spatial computing apps. According to Apple, because the visionOS makes use of existing developer frameworks, there are already “more than 1 million familiar apps” compatible with the Vision Pro.

Some of the apps currently in development for productivity are Microsoft 365 apps, Fantastical, JigSpace, Slack, and Apple’s Freeform. 

Apple has already shown demonstrations of Keynote and Safari visionOS apps, which 9to5Mac speculates that they may be ready to download and use (or will be very soon) and assumes that more iWork suite apps will follow in quick succession. 

Communication apps for the Vision Pro will work with the help of its Persona feature, which will still be in beta upon the Vision Pro’s launch. Apps that already qualify for this include FaceTime, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams.

Here's a list of the confirmed Vision Pro apps so far:

  • Microsoft 365
  • Fantastical (a calendar app)
  • JigSpace (for 3D presentations)
  • Slack
  • Apple Freeform
  • FaceTime
  • Zoom
  • Webex
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Apple TV (with support for Apple Immersive Video format videos)
  • Apple TV Plus (the streaming service)
  • Disney Plus
  • Max
  • Apple Arcade

The following apps have been demoed by Apple, but not yet confirmed for the Apple Vision Pro launch:

  • Apple Keynote
  • Safari

The Vision Pro's entertainment potential

One huge selling point for any virtual reality headset is how users can experience media like entertainment media and gaming. 

Some streaming services will be available and ready to use upon the Vision Pro’s arrival like Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Max (HBO Max and Discovery) and more, though as I mentioned earlier, there are some noticeable exceptions.

Apple has been talking about the Vision Pro’s visual display specs as one of its most cutting-edge features, particularly thanks to the new Apple Immersive Video format that makes the Vision Pro capable of processing and displaying 180-degree, 3D, 8K content with spatial audio. To take advantage of this Apple is making 150 titles available in the Apple TV app. 

Over 250 games will also be available on the Vision Pro with the Apple Arcade, with the potential for games outside of the Apple Arcade to be added as well. Apple is also adding support for PS5 and Xbox wireless controllers that can be used in conjunction with the Vision Pro for gaming.

Apple CEO Tim Cook declared the Vision Pro as “the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created,” which is certainly a bold claim. 

Virtual reality (and similar technologies) and virtual computing devices have had a mixed reception so far, and it’s an interesting move for Apple to launch an augmented reality headset (which is what it is, no matter what Apple wants us to think) when many of its competitors have instead turned their attention to artificial intelligence (AI) – something Apple has so far not shown much interest in. But who knows? If the product is really as good as Apple wants us to think it is, and the price point comes down a little in the future, this could be the next Apple product that becomes a part of our everyday life – but it'll need more apps before it can manage that.

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Watch out Windows 11 users: Microsoft may be sharing your Outlook emails without you knowing – here’s how to stop it
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It looks like Microsoft’s penchant for collecting its users’ data may get it in more trouble, with a worrying new report suggesting that it's sharing more information from emails sent by the new Outlook for Windows app than people may know.

This is particularly concerning as most people check their emails daily, to keep up with friends and family, or send important documents and information at work, and with the Outlook for Windows app now being the default program for emails in Windows 11, this discovery could impact a lot of people

MSPoweruser reports that the team behind ProtonMail, an end-to-end encrypted email service and competitor to Microsoft Outlook, has discovered the worrying scale of user data being collected by Outlook for Windows, which reportedly includes your emails, contacts, browsing history, and possibly even location data. 

ProtonMail’s blog post goes so far as to call Outlook for Windows  “a surveillance tool for targeted advertising”, a harsh comment, certainly, but people who downloaded the new Outlook for Windows app have encountered a disclaimer that explains how Microsoft and hundreds of third parties will be helping themselves to your data. 

It seems like the majority of the data is being used primarily for advertising purposes, with users having to opt out of sharing their data for each of the 772 companies manually. This means that by default you may be sharing a heck of a lot of information, and if you wish to opt out, the process is time-consuming and annoying. 

Here we go again … 

Microsoft has a rather dubious past of being quite greedy with user data. This time last year you might remember our report detailing serious privacy concerns users had with Windows 11, with the PC Security Channel uploading a YouTube video that demonstrated that before you even connect to the internet or open an app, Windows 11 was collecting and sending data to Microsoft – and possibly third-party servers.  

That being said, we should remember that ProtonMail is a direct competitor of Microsoft’s email apps and services, and the team behind it would be very keen to direct criticism at Outlook for Windows. ProtonMail is a service dedicated to user privacy and keeping users' email (as well as calendar, file storage, and VPN) encrypted, so we do have to keep in mind the team’s motives for highlighting this, as the company would want to make its privacy and security look much better than Outlook. 

We also have to consider the fact that Outlook for Windows is a free app, so you could argue that Microsoft can support the app and continue adding features by providing user data to paying third parties.  Regardless, while you can technically opt out of the data sharing, it’s still cheeky of Microsoft to have the opt-out option be a per-advertiser toggle click rather than a simple ‘reject all’ button. But, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. 

Opt out as fast as you can!

If all of this has you concerned and itching to opt out entirely, we’ve got you covered. Head over to the General section of your Outlook for Windows settings and you should see an option called ‘Advertising Preferences’. When you click that you’ll see a large list of company names and toggles near their name set to ‘enable’. 

Unless you create a brand new Outlook email, from what we can tell there’s no single button that will deselect all of them, so you may have to set some time aside to sit down and deselect them all. Each advertiser has an option for you to read more about their privacy policies, and once you open that you’ll see another option to opt out. 

Microsoft Outlook

(Image credit: Future)

I created a new Outlook email account just to test it out, and the option to reject all did pop up when Outlook for Windows first opened, and I also have the option to deselect all the advertising preferences at once in the Settings page as well, though that might not appear for people who have already set up the app with an existing Outlook account. 

If sharing our data by default is the price we have to pay for free apps like Outlook for Windows, at least Microsoft seems to have made turning off that sharing easier than ProtonMail’s team have made out. Still, this shows that it’s well worth paying attention to user agreements and disclaimers for free apps, especially from Microsoft, so you know exactly how much of your data you’re sharing – and who has access to it.

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