Learn how to stop Siri app in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate from keeping all your chats and to automatically delete old ones.

Rumors suggest that Apple is currently working on an upgraded version of its main smart speaker. According to recent reports, the tech company has started internal testing for a brand new full-sized HomePod that features built-in support for the newly announced Siri AI platform. While this sounds like a great update for smart home fans, […]

The post Apple Is Testing A New Full-Sized HomePod With Siri AI Support appeared first on The Mac Observer.

CarPlay chatbots now span five major services, giving the growing collection of dashboard apps a much more conversational side. Claude is the latest addition, joining ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, and Meta AI. Drivers can increasingly bring their preferred AI service into the car through an iPhone app update, although access is not equally open across all five.

The appeal is easy to understand. A question comes to mind during a trip, and instead of saving it for later, you can ask it aloud. A follow-up can become part of the same conversation. There is no need to turn every request into a rigid command or reach for a keyboard.

But the headline needs one qualification: Meta AI has appeared in CarPlay while remaining unavailable to some accounts. Five apps have added support; that does not mean every driver can open all five and immediately start talking.

Claude Brings CarPlay Chatbots to Five

Anthropic’s latest iPhone update adds a straightforward CarPlay experience: begin a new voice conversation or return to a recent chat. The reported Claude integration places those choices inside the simplified dashboard interface rather than reproducing the full mobile app.

That continuity could be particularly useful for someone who already uses Claude regularly. A conversation does not have to begin again simply because the setting has changed from a desk to a parked car or a journey.

Claude’s arrival also makes the category feel less experimental. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Grok established an earlier presence, while Meta AI recently joined the lineup. There is now a broader choice of familiar services rather than one chatbot acting as a demonstration of what CarPlay might eventually support.

This is not a reason to install all five. An assistant that already understands the conversation you want to continue may be more convenient than another app with a different account, unfamiliar controls, and an empty chat history.

Meta AI Still Has an Access Catch

Meta AI is the entry readers should approach with the most caution about availability. Reports describe its icon appearing on the CarPlay screen, only for the app to display a notice that the experience is not supported for that account.

Coverage of the limited Meta AI rollout also notes that moving to a paid account did not necessarily remove the restriction. Paying solely to unlock CarPlay would therefore be a poor assumption.

An icon and a working service are different things. The first shows that the app includes a CarPlay interface; the second depends on whether the provider has enabled access.

If Meta AI opens normally on the iPhone but refuses to work on the dashboard, that account-specific message is important. Repeatedly reconnecting the cable or resetting the vehicle’s infotainment system is unlikely to resolve a restriction controlled by the service.

What CarPlay Chatbots Actually Do

The useful distinction is between discussing something and making the car do something.

A conversational assistant can help explain an unfamiliar subject, work through an idea, or answer follow-up questions. You might ask for a plain-English explanation of a concept mentioned in a podcast, practice a short introduction, or explore ideas for a weekend project.

Those are different requests from changing a destination, calling a contact, or adjusting a vehicle setting. A chatbot’s ability to describe an action should not be mistaken for permission to perform it.

Apple recognizes voice-based conversational apps as a supported CarPlay category, alongside separate categories for navigation, audio, messaging, and driving tasks. Developers must build an appropriate CarPlay experience; an ordinary iPhone chatbot does not automatically qualify simply because it has a microphone button.

The distinction also helps set expectations about the screen. A dashboard conversation should not become an invitation to read paragraphs, inspect generated images, or manage a complicated workspace while driving.

For everyday use, short questions make more sense than elaborate assignments. Asking for three talking points is manageable. Dictating a detailed business proposal while negotiating traffic is a task better saved for somewhere stationary.

ChatGPT Has Clear Requirements and Limits

OpenAI’s CarPlay support documentation confirms availability across all ChatGPT plans, globally, on supported iPhones running iOS 26.4 or later. The latest ChatGPT app and a CarPlay-compatible vehicle are required.

Its interface supports starting a voice conversation, returning to recent or pinned chats, and accessing projects. However, OpenAI explicitly says the CarPlay version cannot access maps, vehicle information, or live location, and cannot control the car or other apps.

That rules out assuming it knows which intersection you are approaching or can change a route because you discussed a destination.

These requirements also mean ChatGPT’s CarPlay support is not something that requires waiting for iOS 27. Readers already using compatible software can check the existing app without installing an upcoming operating-system beta.

Choosing an Assistant Without Adding Dashboard Clutter

There is little value in treating the car as a place to conduct a five-way AI comparison. Try the services while parked, then keep the one that suits the conversations you actually want to have.

Listen for how clearly an assistant answers, whether it understands follow-up questions, and how easily a conversation can be stopped. A response that feels impressive on a laptop may be exhausting when spoken through car speakers for several minutes.

Ask for shorter answers when needed. “Explain that in two sentences” is often a more useful instruction in this setting than requesting a comprehensive overview.

For work-related conversations, consider who else is in the vehicle before resuming a saved chat. A colleague’s name, a client discussion, or a personal detail can become audible to passengers even when the phone remains untouched.

The presence of an app inside CarPlay should not be treated as approval to share confidential information with its provider. Keep employer rules and the service’s own account settings in mind before discussing business material.

Voice Quality Can Depend on the Car

A disappointing voice experience is not always a sign that the AI service misunderstood the question. OpenAI notes that CarPlay audio depends on the vehicle’s microphones, speakers, and echo cancellation. The same app can therefore sound or behave differently across cars.

Before abandoning an assistant because it repeatedly misses words, test it while parked with the cabin quiet. That makes it easier to distinguish a microphone or audio-routing problem from an account restriction or an unhelpful response.

There is also a small behavior worth knowing about ChatGPT: CarPlay may reopen the last-used app when the iPhone reconnects. If a chatbot unexpectedly returns to the display on your next trip, that alone does not mean it has started a fresh conversation or begun listening.

The post CarPlay Chatbots: 5 Major AI Apps Now Reach Your Dashboard appeared first on AppleMagazine.

Sam Altman has described himself as a “mega Apple fanboy” while discussing the trade secrets lawsuit now dividing two companies that were close technology partners only two years ago.

Speaking with journalist Alex Heath on the Sources podcast, the OpenAI CEO said he was “very sad” when he learned about the case. His admiration for Apple, however, did not soften his rejection of the allegations against OpenAI and two former employees.

Altman said the company does not want another business’s intellectual property and would dismiss anyone found to have improperly brought confidential material into OpenAI. He also said an internal investigation left him convinced that the employee at the center of the dispute had not acted improperly.

That is OpenAI’s account, not a resolution of the lawsuit. Apple alleges that trade secrets connected to hardware design, manufacturing and supply-chain operations were taken for the benefit of OpenAI’s consumer-device program. The defendants deny wrongdoing, and the court has not settled those competing claims.

Sam Altman Separates Personal Admiration From the Case

Altman’s response was unusually personal for a dispute of this scale.

Technology executives normally leave active litigation to lawyers and carefully written company statements. Calling himself a fanboy places Altman on familiar ground with millions of customers who admire Apple products while disagreeing with a corporate decision.

His first reaction, he said, was to assume that the accusations sounded serious enough that someone must have behaved badly. OpenAI then examined the matter and reached a different view.

Altman said the company would act if it found that someone had taken another company’s intellectual property. At the same time, he argued that an employee who had done nothing wrong deserved a defense.

That distinction is central to OpenAI’s public position. It does not deny that former Apple employees now work on its hardware initiative. Instead, the company disputes the allegation that their movement between employers brought protected information into the program.

Personal admiration cannot answer the evidentiary questions. Being a customer, praising a company or enjoying its products has no bearing on whether confidential files were accessed or used. Altman’s comments are more revealing as an account of how sharply the relationship has changed.

OpenAI once promoted its work with Apple as a partnership built around safety, innovation and access to advanced AI. It now describes the lawsuit as aggressive, inaccurate and unnecessary.

From ChatGPT Partnership to Hardware Rivalry

In June 2024, both companies announced an agreement to integrate ChatGPT into experiences across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Siri could ask for permission to send certain requests to ChatGPT, while Writing Tools could use the model for composition and image generation. The integration gave OpenAI direct exposure inside some of the world’s most widely used personal devices without requiring every user to create an account.

At the time, Sam Altman said the partnership would introduce ChatGPT to users in a new way. Apple presented the external model as an optional extension of Apple Intelligence, keeping permission and privacy controls between the user and the third-party service.

The arrangement made sense while the companies occupied complementary positions. Apple controlled the devices and operating systems; OpenAI supplied a widely recognized generative model.

Consumer hardware changed that balance.

OpenAI is developing a family of AI-native devices with designer Jony Ive, whose work at Apple helped shape products including iPhone, iMac, iPod and Apple Watch. Tang Tan, another longtime hardware figure who previously worked on major Apple products, is now OpenAI’s chief hardware officer.

Once OpenAI began recruiting deeply from Apple’s hardware organization, the relationship was no longer limited to providing a model inside Siri. The companies were moving toward competition over the physical objects through which people may interact with AI.

That competition helps explain why the lawsuit reaches beyond an ordinary employment disagreement. Hardware development depends on manufacturing knowledge, component choices, testing systems, supplier relationships and production methods that can take years to build.

Apple’s complaint alleges that OpenAI benefited from confidential information in those areas. OpenAI argues that the case is being used to slow a potential rival and discourage employees from leaving.

What Apple Alleges Against OpenAI

Apple filed its lawsuit in July against OpenAI, Tang Tan and former electrical engineer Chang Liu.

The complaint alleges that former employees misappropriated trade secrets connected to product development and shared them with OpenAI as it accelerated its consumer-hardware ambitions. Apple has also sought a preliminary injunction intended to prevent the use of disputed information while the case proceeds.

According to Associated Press reporting on the original complaint, Apple accused OpenAI of encouraging recruits to provide confidential knowledge and advising them on how to avoid scrutiny during the transition between companies.

Those are allegations. OpenAI has denied that it requested, received or wants Apple’s trade secrets.

In its public response, OpenAI disputed several details surrounding Apple’s communications and treatment of departing employees. It argued that continued access to some files resulted from Apple’s own account-management practices and said former employees had attempted to handle that access responsibly.

OpenAI also said Tan had instructed his team not to use confidential material belonging to previous employers. Its motion to dismiss asks the court to reject Apple’s case, while its opposition to the requested injunction challenges the evidence and need for immediate restrictions.

Reuters reported that roughly 400 former Apple employees had joined OpenAI’s hardware initiative, according to figures appearing in court filings. Headcount alone does not establish misuse of trade secrets. It does illustrate the scale of the talent movement and why the dispute has become a defining fight over the next generation of personal hardware.

OpenAI’s Device Work Is Continuing

Sam Altman said he does not expect the lawsuit to slow the company’s device program.

That is the most direct business claim in his interview. It suggests that OpenAI has separated disputed material and personnel questions from the work it believes can continue without relying on protected Apple information.

Whether the schedule remains unaffected may depend on the court. A preliminary injunction could impose restrictions before a full trial, depending on its scope. A denial would allow development to proceed without that requested intervention, although the wider lawsuit would remain active.

OpenAI has revealed little about the devices themselves. The company has discussed an AI-native hardware family rather than a single conventional phone replacement, and Altman has spoken about the privacy discomfort created by products that visibly point cameras at other people.

That leaves the design, release timing and commercial strategy largely unknown. No product has been publicly introduced, and Altman’s assurance that development continues does not amount to a launch announcement.

The lawsuit also does not automatically end ChatGPT’s role across Apple platforms. The existing integration remains a separate customer-facing arrangement unless either company announces a change.

For people using ChatGPT through Siri or Writing Tools, the legal conflict currently produces more drama in court filings than difference on the screen. The stranger question is how long two companies can remain software partners while preparing to compete over the device sitting on the table beside that screen.

The post Sam Altman Calls Himself a ‘Mega Apple Fanboy’ Amid Lawsuit appeared first on AppleMagazine.

Learn how to hide the Add to Calendar / Reminders / Notes buttons from the Messages app in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate.

Find out how to get information about food, plants, animals, and landmarks, or take quick actions using the new Siri tab in iOS 27 Camera.

Juli Clover:

In addition to cutting dozens of Vision Pro employees who worked on features like immersive video and gaming, Apple is laying off people who worked on Siri and AI, reports Bloomberg.

Apple is “largely shutting down” the Vision Pro team focused on gaming, and it is paring down the team that makes immersive video content. Approximately 100 employees who were part of the Vision Products Group have been laid off, with Apple also cutting 100 people from its Siri and software groups.

[…]

Despite the cuts to the Vision Products Group, employees were told that the Vision Pro and visionOS operating system are not being eliminated.

Alexei Oreskovic:

Apple told Bloomberg that it was realigning some teams in order to “evolve” the business to provide the best experience for users. “While we will create new roles as part of this change, it will also impact a limited number of existing roles,” Apple said.

The job cuts are tiny in relation to the overall company, which had 166,000 full time employees in September 2025 (the last time Apple disclosed its headcount). But as John Ternus prepares to take the CEO job just over one week from now, the timing seems designed to get some unpleasant work out of the way and let the new boss come in with clean hands.

It’s hard to find good people, Apple has plenty of work that needs doing, and it just reported a record quarter. Maybe they don’t need more immersive video content, but it’s not clear to me why the other employees couldn’t be reassigned. And I’m really wondering what’s going on with the general software group, where they’re getting rid of legends like Keith Stattenfield:

So, I posted yesterday on an another place that I had been just laid off at Apple after 37 years. ( Surprise! I got laid off. It was unexpected. I am still coming to terms with it. Yes, I will be ok. ) And I mentioned some of the things I’d done, and mused that I’d thought I’d finish out my career in a few years having passed along the knowledge to younger engineers. Alas, that’s going to get left unfinished.

Jim Luther:

I felt much the same way, because I’d also hoped to slowly ease into retirement instead of being given options that led me to retire a few years early.

Chris Hanson:

Laying off anyone working on anything related to Apple Vision Pro is a gross strategic blunder, because it signals a lack of confidence in the product. Put them to work fixing bug backlogs if you don’t want them working on what they were doing, but don’t lay them off and let that show up in the press, that’s fucking amateur hour shit.

[…]

And the same goes for the Software Engineering layoffs, which don’t seem to be reported much upon because the layoffs have been described as “Apple Vision Pro, Siri, and software” where perhaps people don’t get that the latter is how Apple refers to the Software Engineering (SWE) org. There are so many bugs that should be fixed, that users encounter in their everyday lives, just reassign people to work on them. It’s stupid to lay people off when they could do that.

Plus, maybe retaining that institutional knowledge would help forestall future bugs.

Previously:

• Apple’s Q3 2026 Results
• Giving Up on the Vision Pro
• John Ternus Replaces Tim Cook
• AI Layoffs
• Why Apple Still Hasn’t Cracked AI
• Apple Shifts Siri From Giannandrea to Rockwell
• Apple Books Layoffs
• Apple Cancels Car Project
• Thank You, Sal

Update (2026-08-25): Louie Mantia:

Laying off employees who were working on a product that largely “failed” in the market is extremely hurtful to those employees, because the product’s failure is not their fault. They were directed to do that work. Apple should find new places for every single one of the employees who worked on Vision Pro. They owe it to the people who they directed to work toward the goal of making and maintaining Vision Pro. They can afford to do that.

Steven Huang:

Apple didn’t even work that hard to take care of the iPod employees who were once half the company’s revenue. In the end they basically gave Nest a free engineering team.

Update (2026-08-28): See also: ArsTechnica.

Update (2026-09-02): Hartley Charlton:

Recent layoffs of Apple employees working on the Vision Pro were broader than previously thought, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports.

[…]

Gurman reports that people inside the Vision Pro group have spent months lobbying new CEO John Ternus to stay the course on the platform even as sales continue to underwhelm. Colleagues who have discussed the headset with Ternus say he was skeptical of it from the start, seeing it as too bulky and too costly to reach a mass audience.

Interestingly, since visionOS apparently runs on Apple’s upcoming smart glasses, the wider layoffs impact software shared across both product lines rather than the headset alone.

Marko Crnković (tweet):

I was recently informed that I am being laid off from my position at Apple. It was unexpected, especially coming right after WWDC, where several of the projects I led and features I contributed to were announced.

[…]

You can find my resume here.

Previously:

• John Ternus Is CEO