This digest compiles the latest from Apple Insider.
Today’s Apple Insider Roundup
Apple & Google's AI deal clears biggest hurdle blocking smart home accessory release
Apple’s smart home peripheral been a “releases next year” rumored product for about three years, but Apple’s decision to pair Google’s Gemini models with Siri may finally be the key to shipping.
Apple has been working on a tabletop smart home display with a rotating base for years, but Siri’s limitations repeatedly slowed progress. Those delays have not only pushed back the display itself, but also stalled broader Apple Home-focused hardware plans tied to ambient voice interaction.
Reports have described the device. The missing piece has consistently been a Siri capable of handling shared, always-on environments reliably.
Apple Intelligence will see sweeping changes as Craig Federighi takes control
Apple software chief Craig Federighi has taken control of Apple’s AI teams, and the move to using Google’s Gemini tech is a preview of bigger Apple Intelligence changes to come.
Confirmation that Google’s Gemini will be used to bolster Apple Intelligence features to help Siri move forward was damning for Apple’s internal models team. Now, a new report by The Information tells the story of a floundering AI focus within Apple that’s now under the stewardship of a noted AI skeptic.
The report also hints at strained relations between Federighi and the AI models team he now controls. It’s said that the software exec took a dig at the team during a recent meeting.
'F1' driving Apple's Oscar awards ambitions in 2026
“F1: The Movie” is Apple TV‘s latest film to be nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture, alongside three other nominations, though it failed to get any nominations for acting and directing.
Apple TV is famously the first streamer to win a Best Picture Oscar, having won in 2022 with “CODA.” It was then nominated for Best Picture in 2024 for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and now in 2026 for “F1: The Movie.”
In all, “F1” has been nominated in four categories for the 98th Academy Awards:
China Lunar New Year discounts arrive, in profoundly limited quantities
As it does every year, Apple is offering discounts of up to $140 on iPhones and other devices in China for Lunar New Year celebrations. The offer appears to be extremely quantity-limted.
Apple practically never gives discounts anywhere, preferring instead to offer gift cards, but it does now in China. Alongside special offers such as the new Year of the Horse limited edition AirPods Pro 3, Apple also offers an annual discount.
Since at least 2023, Apple has offered some amount off iPhones. For 2026, according to Apple’s China website, the discount is now wide-ranging, and includes:
How Apple nearly chickened out and came close to not airing the legendary "1984" ad
It’s lauded as one of the most effective ads ever made, it stunned viewers, but on January 22, during the Super Bowl, “1984” launched the Macintosh without even showing the product once. It almost didn’t make it to air.
This ad is so famous that you know how it goes. An athlete in full color, runs through a gray room full of gray people and she throws a sledgehammer to smash a gray screen.
All of that gray is down to George Orwell’s Big Brother — or as close as could be without paying royalties — and this spark of color represents the Macintosh.
India may get Apple Pay after a decade of banking roadblocks
Apple is reportedly in talks to bring Apple Pay to India, though it’s been trying since at least 2017.
Apple Pay was first announced for the US in 2014, and has been rolling out to other countries since. India has long been rumored to get it, but so far has not.
However, as first spotted by 91mobiles, that may change by the end of 2026. Reportedly, Apple is in discussions with Indian banks, local government regulators, and also Visa and Mastercard.
Anker Nano Charger with display review: New travel charger knows your iPhone
Anker has a new tiny charger that is designed specifically for iPhone users with several unique features not found in any other power adapters. Let’s put it to the test.
The new GaN charger is the Anker Nano Charger, which is a name used by many prior Anker mini chargers. They’ve all been roughly the same size, but with updated specs in each new iteration.
This one, announced at CES 2026, supports 45W of power, has rotating prongs, a built-in display, and a smart “care” mode. In a market saturated with chargers, this one certainly stands out.
End of today’s Apple Insider roundup.
