This digest compiles the latest from Apple Insider.
Today’s Apple Insider Roundup
Apple's AI summaries include racial & gender biases, if the query is vague enough
When specifically tailored queries made to test Apple Intelligence using developer tools are intentionally ambiguous about race and gender, researchers have seen biases pop up.
AI Forensics, a German nonprofit, analyzed over 10,000 notification summaries created by Apple’s AI feature. The report suggests that Apple Intelligence treats White people as the “default” while applying gender stereotypes when no gender has been specified.
According to the report, Apple Intelligence has a tendency to ignore a person’s ethnicity if they are caucasian. Conversely, any messages that mentioned another ethnicity regularly saw the notification summary follow suit.
Apple Creator Studio users are hitting generative AI usage limits far too soon
Apple buries the fact that its Apple Creator Studio bundle’s generative AI features come with any usage limits, but the limits are real and now appear to be significantly less than expected.
Apple Creator Studio is a bundle of apps such as Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, plus updated versions of the iWork ones such as Pages and Keynote. In each case, Apple heavily promotes how the apps all come with new Apple Intelligence features.
Apple also promotes the bundle as meaning “endless creativity… unlimited possibilities,” but those AI features are in fact limited. Users have to read the Apple Creator Studio support page before they would even know about them — or they have to hit the limits.
iPhone 16e and iPad Air stocks are reportedly depleting at Apple retail
A new report is claiming that stocks of both the iPhone 16e and the iPad Air are dwindling at retail, perhaps backing up expectations of new models being launched soon.
There are regularly reports of stocks of Apple devices running low, and the presumption is often that this means a refresh is coming. As of late it hasn’t been the case — reports of MacBook Pro custom configuration stock-outs have been prevalent for months, and the Apple TV hardware is subject to the same from time to time.
In this case, however, a new claim by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman fits well with reports of Apple shortly releasing an updated iPhone 17e.
iOS 26.3 arrives with a simpler way to transfer from iPhone to Android
Apple has released iOS 26.3 to the public, with the changes including a simplified way to transfer to an Android device.
Following another beta testing cycle, Apple has released its update for iOS 26.3 to the public. The update follows after just one beta build was tested by Apple, with testers using the first build throughout the end-of-year holiday period.
While iOS 26.2 brought many new features to the operating system, iOS 26.3 brings somewhat fewer. This is fairly common for Apple, as the main features are released as part of the initial release in the fall, with fewer features added down the road.
FTC uses selective Apple News study to ask Apple to stop promoting 'leftist outlets'
Apple News is an aggregation app run by human curators and algorithmic feeds, but a poorly handled study failed to catch the right-wing outlets shared, and now the FTC is involved.
Whether or not the FTC can claim jurisdiction over what content can be highlighted by an independent editorial team might be up for debate, but the content of the Apple News app is not. Right-leaning outlets are sometimes featured in the curated Top Stories and Spotlight sections, but one study somehow missed that.
The study was cited by various right-wing outlets and shared by the President on his personal social media platform, but none detailed exactly how the study arrived at its conclusion. The report has now led to Trump-appointed FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson to send a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook to warn him that Apple could be in violation of a law.
How to manage your iPhone notifications on iOS 26
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the amount of notifications you’re receiving, you’re hardly alone — that’s why we’re here to show you how to manage notifications on your iPhone.
For as great as the iPhone is, it can be pretty distracting when you think about it. According to a study done in 2024, the average person receives 146 notifications per day.
And, the younger you are, the more notifications you receive. Those in Generation Z received about 181 notifications a day — about one every eight minutes.
Orico MiniPro Dock Case review: Mini Mac Pro, mini bandwidth
The Orico MiniPro Dock Case does turn your Mac mini into a cute mini Mac Pro replica, but it’s not just the small size that’s limiting.
The current generation of Mac mini has become a favorite among enclosure designers, since it can easily be placed inside a casing and made to look like something else. Sometimes, this can look like other retro computers, and do so with great effect.
In the case of the Orico MiniPro Dock Case, the intention was to create something that borrowed its appearance from something historically associated with performance. In effect, the Orico MiniPro Dock Case is an enclosure that turns the Mac mini into a cheese grater Mac Pro.
'Severance' acquired by Apple for $70 million, expect a 4-season run and spinoffs
Apple Studios is now the owner of “Severance,” with the original owners, Fifth Season, sticking around as executive producers, and there are plans to expand the IP’s universe.
As everyone waits for season 3 of Severance, there’s news that may just ensure the series has a long future on Apple TV. It started as a series leased from Fifth Season, but now it will join Apple Studios as an in-house production.
The news comes from Deadline, which says the series sold to Apple for around $70 million. The original studio is sticking around as executive producers.
End of today’s Apple Insider roundup.
