This digest compiles the latest from Apple Insider.
Today’s Apple Insider Roundup
A leaked internal email shows Ring's plan targets more than pets
In perhaps the least surprising news of the decade, a leaked email confirms Ring had every intention of tracking people and not just pets with its doorbells.
Ring, a home security company known for its widely adopted video doorbells, bought a Super Bowl ad space. And, within 30 seconds, the company managed to kill off any remaining goodwill it had with the general public, forcing it to back off from a proposed partnership with Flock Safety.
The idea was pitched as harmless. You mark your dog missing, the other cameras in your neighborhood keep an eye out for your dog, and if found, you get an alert.
A FaceBook smart watch is okay, if you don't value privacy
Meta has reportedly revived its abandoned Facebook Watch, plans to release it in 2026, and is probably rubbing its corporate hands at what health data it will learn from you, and then turn around and monetize.
Back in 2021, Facebook had plans to make a smartwatch, and it was far enough along that there was even a leaked image of just how much it looked like an Apple Watch.
Nothing came of it back then, but maybe not for technological reasons. It was also in 2021 that the Facebook company was renamed Meta in a feeble attempt to distance itself from its own appalling record on privacy abuses.
West Virginia sues Apple over iCloud child porn hosting
West Virginia’s attorney general believes iCloud is the greatest platform ever made to distribute child porn, and is the first government to sue Apple after a previous class action failed.
The suit alleges that Apple’s decisions over the way it handles iCloud and the storing of images make it “the greatest platform for distributing child porn.”
In a statement to Reuters, Attorney General JB McCuskey argued that Apple’s inaction is “inexcusable.”
March madness: What Apple is getting ready to launch
The rumor mill is in overdrive. These are the best candidates — and the also-rans — for what Apple will launch and then have an “experience” to demo on March 4.
It seems the March 4 Apple Experience won’t be an actual launch of new products in Apple’s catalog, but instead capping off multiple announcements during the week. That gives Apple a lot of opportunity to promote multiple items.
With the breadth of rumored devices on the docket, including many anticipated for launch in early 2026. it certainly needs that opportunity. But, as ever, some have more chance of making an appearance than others.
No, iPhone 18 won't have Mac-like MagSafe charging
Here we go again, with a viral TikTok with no basis in fact. The latest lie claims that the iPhone 18 will ditch USB-C and feature a tiny MacBook-like MagSafe plug.
It’s pretty common these days. A TikTok lie about Apple pops up, and it’s passed around and cloned on the site. Millions of hits later, it reaches the ears of mainstream media, who pick it up like it’s gospel, straight from Tim Cook’s desk.
The latest lie is that the 2026 iPhone is getting a nearly microscopic MacBook-like Magsafe charger, and USB-C will be purged from the device.
Race to the IMAX theater: Apple TV & F1 will screen live races
Apple TV and IMAX have announced a program of F1 races to be screened live across the US, starting with the Miami Grand Prix in May 2026.
“F1: The Movie” was not only Apple’s biggest success in films to date, it was also the top earning movie for IMAX theatres in 2025. Now IMAX has announced a new deal with Apple TV to bring live screenings of F1 races to “at least 50 IMAX locations nationwide.
“Fl is a rapidly growing force in sports and culture in the US, and by bringing F1 on Apple TV live to IMAX theaters nationwide, we’re delivering the energy and excitement to even more screens in a truly immersive way,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports, and Beats, said in a statement. “We’re excited to collaborate with IMAX to expand access to F1 on Apple TV and give fans across the US a powerful new way to experience the speed and spectacle that the sport delivers.”
Buck-passing Zuckerberg ropes Apple into his defense in social media safety trial
In a court case concerning the mental health effects of social media, Mark Zuckerberg’s defense includes that he tried to discuss the issue with Tim Cook, who, obviously, doesn’t run a social media platform.
The trial concerns in part the issue of age verification, which Meta has previously tried to dodge by saying Apple and Google should deal with it rather than any application. The case is a specific one brought to a Los Angeles court by a 19-year-old who claims social media led her to self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
It’s being seen, though, as a test case with much wider implications. The unnamed teenager and her mother originally sued Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok, although the latter two have settled out of court.
AI agents are coming to CarPlay, but they're not getting the keys
Apple is formally making room for AI agents in the car, adding a new voice-based conversational app category to CarPlay in iOS 26.4.
Apple’s February 9, 2026 update to the CarPlay Developer Guide introduces a new CarPlay entitlement category for voice-driven conversational apps. The move creates an official path for third-party AI assistants to operate inside CarPlay rather than relying solely on Siri.
The change arrives as generative AI becomes more embedded across Apple platforms. CarPlay is next, but Apple is setting clear boundaries.
End of today’s Apple Insider roundup.
