Apple is planning to offer some kind of holiday App Store promotion that may see the company giving away free apps and games.
In Australia, where it is December 24, App Store users are waking up to an App Store story that mentions a "surprise" for Tuesday and explains that users can expect a treat every day from December 24 to December 29.
Tuesday's surprise isn't live yet, but it will be shortly! Make sure you come back soon to check it out.
Have you seen today's goodies? Look for the unwrapped presents on the App Store's Today, Games, and Apps tabs.
From December 24 to 29, you'll find a new surprise every day on the App Store. Come back daily to discover which treat we have waiting for you!
The wording of the story suggests that Apple is planning to give away free apps and games in a promotion similar to the 12 Days of Christmas promotion that the company used to run several years back.
We don't know yet what app or game Apple plans to give away on December 24, but we should find out soon from Australian users. App Store users in other countries like the United States can expect to see the same promotions when December 24 rolls around.
Update 10:39 a.m.: The surprises have gone live in New Zealand, and MacRumors readers tonyduffe and @Ldeverell report that the deals include a special in-app purchase bundle Looney Tunes World of Mayhem and a three-month subscription for the price of one month in Canva. We'll have to see if offers are the same around the world.
Update 2: Based on reader reports, the daily surprises appear to only be available in Australia and New Zealand, with a subset of them also seen in India.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
