In the latest iOS 16.1 beta, Apple has added a new toggle to the App Store's settings that allows apps to automatically begin downloading their in-app content after they're downloaded and before a user launches them for the first time.
"Automatically run apps in the background to download content before you first launch them," the description of the toggle says. With the new option enabled, after a user installs an app from the App Store, it'll automatically begin running in the background to download their in-app content so that when the user opens the app for the first time, it's ready to go.
The new toggle was added in iOS 16.1 beta 3 and macOS Ventura beta 9. Also, in the latest macOS Ventura beta, Apple has a new dynamic version of its Ventura marketing wallpaper.
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,...
This is a sneaky way for us to enable Background App Refresh for new apps, considering most people turned BAR off a long time ago after realizing we only use it to track users and it provides the user nothing.
I can't recall the last time an app required an additional download after installing. Does anyone have any examples? The only ones I can think of are games.
Wow, those mobile games will definitely use this feature EXTENSIVELY after every month‘s maintenance. Aside from that, I dunno who will benefit too much from it. Just did a quick test and Genshin took advantage of that very well. O_O
I can't recall the last time an app required an additional download after installing. Does anyone have any examples? The only ones I can think of are games.
Content streaming apps. One of the first things I've had to do with a new phone is launch Spotify and let it start downloading the many GB of music I've saved to play offline. Same would apply to stuff like HBO Max that also lets you locally cache content for offline use. Could maybe apply to something like Dropbox to preload pinned files.
But yeah, even considering the above it's not like I'm getting a new phone every week and need to keep doing this. Whatever, might save some time at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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.
