The Digital Reader points to reports that Apple's iBooks Digital Rights Management (DRM) copy protection has been cracked for the first time:
Reports are coming in today that the latest version of Requiem, an app that removes Fairplay DRM from music and videos sold via iTunes, will now also remove the DRM from iBooks ebooks.
The news is notable in that it's the first time that iBooks DRM has been circumvented. This would allow iBooks downloaded from iTunes to be used on other platforms besides Apple's iBooks reader.
Apple's DRM for music and movies have been circumvented in the past, and resulted in a cat and mouse game of updates to iTunes to disable these hacks. Apple will likely respond in a similar fashion to this hack.
Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces.
The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019.
Q.ai...
Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...
I've never understood DRM, it's premise seems to be to penalise those who purchase content legally, whilst pirates still get their more flexible content for free.
<wishfull thinking>
Maybe this is a reason for Apple to drop the drm on the ibook ebooks altogether (like what happened with the AAC's)
</wishfull thinking>
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.