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Federal prosecutors charged more than a dozen people for their alleged roles in a sophisticated theft ring, while an executive in Japan was arrested over MacBook-related fraud in this week's Apple Crime Blotter.Ginza Apple Store in Tokyo The latest in an occasional AppleInsider feature, looking at the world of Apple-related crime. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Playground Games Forza Horizon 5 is out next month for PS5, bringing the acclaimed open-world racing franchise to Sony consoles at last. However, according to the official FAQ, youll need a Microsoft account.When booting it up for the first time on PS5, you must link it to your PlayStation Network account. The process is permanent, and while you can unlink later, it will remain tied to that specific Microsoft account. It isnt necessarily a new process, as denoted by the title-by-title basis part.Rares Sea of Thieves also required linking to a Microsoft account and accessing Xbox Live services. Obsidians Grounded launched on PS4 and PS5 with this requirement for multiplayer, but a subsequent patch removed it.Forza Horizon 5 launches on April 29th for PS5, with Premium Edition owners receiving early access on April 25th. This coincides with a new update, Horizon Realms, which allows players on all platforms to venture into a curated collection of previous Evolving Worlds. Head here for more details.

MercurySteams Blades of Fire was revealed recently, and its surprisingly out in May. With a focus on forging your own weapons and more methodical combat, its perhaps equally surprising to hear that it will offer anything between 60 to 80 hours of gameplay.This is according to PlayStation Blog, which spoke to CEO and director Enric lvarez about the title. He also offered more details about the blacksmithing process. There are seven unique weapon families and 14 stats to consider, each affecting the result differently. You have to choose between different pommels for balance, the shape of the blade for either more durability or higher speed and penetration, the steel type for laceration and defense, and much more.The forge will highlight how much more or less effective your weapon is becoming at the different stats, which is helpful. As for the forging process, Enric said, Im pretty sure theres no other game that has a system like this. So we had to create it with no references. We wanted the player to feel the strength, heat, and intensity of the forge, so when you strike the metal with your hammer, youre moving the metal in one direction or another and shaping it.Of course, players must be careful hitting it too much could result in losing some properties. Once its complete, you get a star rating, but it doesnt indicate the weapons quality. Instead, this represents the number of times you can repair it. And since it wears out during battle, having a higher-rated work usable more times before ultimately breaking is key.Its easy to get a viable weapon, but its very hard to get a perfect one. And in battle, you feel the consequences of your decisions, as itll determine your combat style, said Enric.Blades of Fire launches on May 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC via the Epic Games Store. Head here for more details on MercurySteams design philosophy.

Streaming has made entertainment more accessible than ever, but that doesn't mean it's cheap. Most streaming services have continuously hiked their own prices and limited password sharing, and confusing licensing deals sometimes make it surprisingly difficult to find an entire franchise in the same spot. Nowadays it's common to debate, as I'm doing constantly, which subscriptions are worth keeping for the long haul. Plenty of streaming services particularly the newer ones offer free trials, bundles, and discounts to try and attract new subscribers. "New subscriber," of course, meaning "different e-mail address."The best time to save on subscriptions is undoubtedbly Black Friday, when most streaming services offer their biggest discounts of the year. But if you're trying to find savings like right now, these are some of the best streaming deals available. Here Are the Best Streaming Deals Right Now:Disney+ and Hulu (Basic)Peacock Included With Instacart+See it at InstacartDisney+, Hulu, and Max BundleSee it at Disney+Amazon Prime Free TrialSee it at Amazon PrimeMax with DoorDashSee it at DoorDashHulu Free TrialSee it at HuluFree Paramount+ Subscription With Walmart+See it at WalmartApple TV+ Free TrialSee it at AppleTry Mega Fan Crunchyroll See it at CrunchyrollLimited Time Streaming Deal: Disney+ and Hulu for $2.99/monthDisney+ and Hulu (Basic)Save 72% per month on Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic: $2.99/mo for 4 monthsDisney+ and Hulu just announced they're bringing back a limited time discount on their joint ad-supported bundle. Until March 30, you can sign up for the Basic Disney+ with Hulu plan at $2.99/month for the first four months. This is a 72% discount from the standard price of $10.99/month. Best Streaming Bundle: Disney+, Hulu, and Max Disney+, Hulu, and Max Bundle$16.99/month with ads, $29.99/month ad-free.See it at Disney+Home to the MCU, Star Wars, Pixar, and every niche Disney Channel show you could have watched as a kid, Disney+ is one of the only streaming services to offer actual deals, though a free trial isn't one of them. Instead, Disney+ is all about the bundles, which are the most consistent opportunities for savings. The Disney+ bundle with Hulu and Max is one of the best on the market, offering over $300 in savings a year for the ad-free plan. Sports fans should consider the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle as well. Otherwise, Disney+ with ads is $9.99, versus $15.99 for the ad-free plan, and Disney+ also allows adding "Extra Members" to an existing plan at discounted prices. Other Max Bundles and DealsMax with DoorDashDashPass Annual Plans starting at $96See it at DoorDashRight now, DoorDash's Dash Pass Annual memberships include an ad-supported Max subscription, which can be upgraded to the ad-free version for $10.99/month, compared to the $16.99/month standard price. Students can sign up for Max at a 50% discount. Bundle-wise, on top of the Disney+ and Hulu option, Max can also be bundled with Starz for $20.99/month through Prime Video. Hulu Free Trials and Discounts7 Days FreeHulu Free TrialSee it at HuluHulu does offer a 7-day free trial for the standalone service. Students can sign up for Hulu at a 75% discount with the ads plan costing just $1.99/month, and they can also pair the Hulu benefit with Spotify Premium, getting both for $5.99/month. Eligible U.S. service members, veterans, and their dependents can also save 25% on Hulu with ads. Outside of these discounts, the best Hulu deal is still the bundle with Disney+ and Max. Best Paramount+ Deal: Save With Walmart+Free Paramount+ Subscription With Walmart+Sign up for a free trial of Walmart+ for 30 days and get Paramount+ Essential plan for 30 days, free.See it at WalmartStarting at $7.99/month, the ad-supported Paramount+ Essential plan is one of the cheaper subscriptions on the market. Showtime isnt available as a standalone subscription, so if youre interested in watching, say, the new season of Yellowjackets, youll have to check out the Paramount+ with Showtime bundle, which starts at $12.99/month. In terms of deals, Walmart+ memberships, which cost $12.95/month, include a Paramount+ subscription, though upgrades to the Showtime bundle cost an additional $5.49/month. Walmart+ memberships also offer a 30-day free trial. Best Peacock Deal: Bundle With InstaCart+Peacock Included With Instacart+Memberships starting at $9.99/monthSee it at InstacartNBC Universal's Peacock appeared on the scene back in 2020, but didn't really start to get any traction until the service reclaimed NBC-owned shows like The Office from Netflix. Peacock is also where you'll find Nickelodeon shows, Universal movies (most recently The Wild Robot), and plenty of live sports coverage. Peacock itself doesnt offer a free trial, but there are a couple of ways to get access to the service. Instacart+ subscriptions, which offer $0 delivery fees and additional InstaCart perks, are $9.99/month and include Peacock Premium. Like Hulu, Peacock offers a 75% discount for students. The NBC-owned service also offers lesser-known discounts for first responders and medical professionals, as well as teachers. To be eligible for these discounts, youll have to verify your identity and occupation. AppleTV+ Deals and Free Trials Apple TV+ Free Trial7 Days FreeSee it at AppleAppleTV offers more random deals throughout the year than most streaming services, usually to support its own releases. For example, AppleTV+ was entirely free to watch for the first weekend of 2025, primarily as the service was marketing the new season of Severance. AppleTV+ doesnt currently have any special offers, but well be sure to update this next time they do. AppleTV+ also offers a 7-day free trial to new subscribers. If youre subscribed or have considered other Apple subscriptions, signing up for Apple One extends that free trial to 30 days. As a hub for Apple subscriptions, Apple One also includes AppleTV+ in its $19.95 monthly cost. Otherwise, for students, the Apple Music Student Plan includes an AppleTV+ subscription. Other Ways to Get AppleTV+Apple being Apple, one of the most popular ways to access AppleTV+ is by picking up an Apple device. A 3-month Apple TV+ trial comes with new iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and Macs. AppleTV+ subscriptions are also included in T-Mobiles G50G plan, Sprint's Max plan, and Xfinity's StreamSaver bundle. Best Anime Streaming Deal: Crunchyroll Free Trials Try Mega Fan Crunchyroll 7 Days FreeSee it at CrunchyrollAs the ultimate streaming service for anime, Crunchyroll is where you'll find every episode of One Piece, the new Dragon Ball series, and pretty much any other anime you can think of. As a starting point, Crunchyroll is one of the few services that still offers a free plan, albeit with limited viewing options. If youre looking for the full experience, Crunchyroll offers a 7-day free trial for its Mega Fan subscription, which includes ad-free access to the services entire streaming library, free shipping on orders from the Crunchyroll store, and offline viewing. Other Ways to Get CrunchyrollWhile Crunchyroll itself offers a 7-day trial, the streamer has partnered with Best Buy to offer extended Crunchyroll trials on select purchases. For example, I got two months of Crunchyroll's Mega Fan streaming plan for free when I bought a ROG Ally X. A 30-day Crunchyroll trial is also included in My Best Buy memberships. Prime Video DiscountsAmazon Prime Free Trial30-day free trial for new subscribersSee it at Amazon PrimeWith a growing library of original shows like Reacher and Invincible, Prime Video is included in an Amazon Prime membership, which students and young adults can get at a 50% discount. Otherwise, you can sign up for Amazons 30-day free trial and youll have access to Prime Video. Amazon also currently offers a 50% discount on Prime for eligible recipients of EBT and other government assistance programs. Other Deals on Prime Video Besides being a streaming service, Prime Video is also a digital marketplace, with plenty of movies and shows outside of Amazons empire available to rent or buy. If youre trying to avoid another streaming subscription, or cant find a specific niche movie, sometimes its worth flipping through the Prime Video deals. Streaming Deals FAQ Does Netflix ever have deals?You might have noticed one major streaming service missing from this list, and thats for a reason. Netflix has never really offered deals; the streamer doesn't even offer a discounted "annual plan." One of the only ways to get around those prices is through phone and internet plans, as Netflix with ads plans are available through T-Mobile, Verizon, and Xfinity. Whats the best streaming bundle right now? The best streaming bundle depends on what services you already have and which ones youve been looking to join. For example, if youre already paying for Paramount+, the "cheapest" streaming bundle would technically be adding a Showtime subscription. That said, if youre starting from scratch, I highly recommend one of the newest bundles that includes Disney+, Hulu, and Max. I pay for this bundle and pretty much nothing else, and between all three libraries, I can always find something good to watch. You can also check out our full list of streaming bundles for a full breakdown of whats available. Where can I find promo codes for streaming services?Outside of specific deals, plenty of streaming services accept promo codes for particular events, sales, and from other vendor partners. These change frequently, but some regularly updated lists of streaming service promo codes can be found on Retailmenot and Coupons.com. When do streaming services offer deals? Streaming service deals can be a bit irregular, but there are some things to look out for. Streaming services may offer disounts or extended trials ahead of new exclusive releases, like the AppleTV+ deal ahead of Severance Season 2. Summer specials, holiday deals, and big TV events like the Super Bowl are also common times for new deals. The best time to check for streaming deals is undoubtedly Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last years Cyber Monday streaming deals were some of the best Ive ever seen, including Hulu for less than $1/month and Paramount+ with Showtime for $2.99/month.What phone and internet plans include streaming deals? One of the best ways to save on streaming is to look for phone and internet plans that include specific services. T-Mobile offers plans that include Netflix with ads, Hulu with ads, and AppleTV+. Verizon offers plans that include the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle as well as plans that come with Max and ad-supported Netflix. On the internet side, you can get Peacock, AppleTV+, and Netflix through Xfinity's StreamSaver bundle.

According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple is actively developing a version of AirPods with integrated cameras. This tech is unlikely to make an appearance in AirPods Pro 3, which are expected to debut this year but nonetheless, its in the pipeline. Apple wants your AirPods to better understand your environment, but why?Visual Intelligence integrationWith the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple introduced Camera Control. This new button is great for taking photos and adjusting camera settings, but it also unlocked a new feature: Visual Intelligence.Visual Intelligence is a powerful tool that helps users learn about the world around them, and allows users to take action based on the physical context around them. You can add an event flyer to your calendar, for example, or tap into the power of ChatGPT or Google to help learn about something you dont understand.According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple wants to bring similar integration with AirPods, mainly in an effort to bolster its position in the AI race:Apple isworking on a new versionof the AirPods Pro that uses external cameras and artificial intelligence to understand the outside world and provide information to the user. This would essentially be the smart glasses path but without actual glasses.With this integration on AirPods, you could possibly ask Siri about your surroundings, without even needing to take your iPhone out of your pocket.Improved spatial audioSupply chain analyst Ming Chi Kuo has also floated the idea of Apple using these cameras as a means of integration with other products. Specifically, they could be used for better spatial awareness while listening to audio with Apple Vision Pro:The new AirPods is expected to be used with Vision Pro and future Apple headsets to enhance the user experience of spatial audio and strengthen the spatial computing ecosystem. For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing this new AirPods, if users turn their heads to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to enhance the spatial audio/computing experience.This suggestion in particular is a bit odd, but given Kuos credibility, its worth mentioning. He also mentioned that its possible that these cameras could enable in-air gesture control for AirPods.Release dateAccording to Bloomberg, Apple wont debut this tech until 2027 at the earliest, likely alongside AirPods Pro 4:Into 2027, the team is considering launching smart glasses on par with the Meta Ray-Bans, as well asAirPods with cameras. The idea is to salvage the billions of dollars spent on the Vision Pros visual intelligence technology, which can scan the environment around a user and supply useful data.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apples upcoming iOS 19 release will focus more on expanding existing Apple Intelligence capabilities, rather than introducing brand new ones.Given the fact that the company is very behind on delivering on its iOS 18 Siri promises, this makes a lot of sense. Apple reportedly also postponed its plans to deliver a more conversational Siri in iOS 19, instead pushing that release to iOS 20.Outside of Siri features though, Gurman reports that iOS 19 wont have any major new AI features. Instead, well see more of what we have now, just spread across the ecosystem:The bad news is that Apple is unlikely to unveil groundbreaking new AI features at this coming WWDC. Instead, it will likely lay out plans for bringing current capabilities to more apps.It isnt quite clear what this means. Perhaps well see Apple bring their summarization features to more apps, or possibly even open up an API for developers. Its hard to say what expansion Apple could be planning, given the limited scope of its existing non-Siri features.Nonetheless, iOS 19 is looking to be more of a catch-up year for AI, rather than a huge stride forward. Apple is still planning to release the new LLM Siri backend with iOS 19.4, though the conversational assistant is delayed. Additionally, Apple has delayed its iOS 18.4 Siri features to sometime in the coming year, which could possibly mean iOS 19.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

As CEO Elon Musk ravages the federal government with chainsaws and fascist salutes, the wheels are coming off for Tesla literally.New local reporting by League City, Texas' KPRC-TV has uncovered an unusual heist in which thieves pilfered 44 tires from 11 unsold Teslas sitting in an Amazon warehouse parking lot over Valentine's day weekend. At least two tire lifts were attempted, though only one of them was successful.The daring and frankly kind of impressive feat has stumped investigators, who say they have no leads, as the building's cameras weren't recording.It's unknown why the Teslas were parked in an Amazon warehouse, a mere 15-minute drive from the nearest Tesla showroom, though a recent surge of vandalism and protests targeting the EV company might have something to do with it.Though the thefts may or may not be politically motivated automotive publication Jalopnik points out that the tires are worth about $350 a piece on the used market they come at a time when anti-Tesla actions are heating up around the globe, resulting in arrests, investigations, and no small amount of pearl clutching from Musk's technocrat allies.A few days ago in lower Manhattan, activists occupied a Tesla dealership a nonviolent protest tactic dating back to the Civil Rights movement as protestors of all ages demonstrated peacefully outside.Video fromFreedom News.TV captures the moment NYPD officers secured the storefront, swarming the front entrance and taking a number of activists into custody. Photos by Leonardo Munoz show the moment police formed a human barricade between the Tesla store and the protestors a powerful image as Musk's interests become indistinguishable from the state's.And what good is a dramatic transfer of power without some good old fashioned browbeating to back it up?"These terror*sts are HELLBENT on scaring Elon Musk into silence," negged Nick Sortor, a right-wing media pundit with nearly one million followers on X-formerly-Twitter.In this scenario, the power of Musk's unfathomable wealth not to mention his social media empire is conveniently washed away."DOGE has very high approval from the people as a whole, but the grifters super hate it," replied Musk, who apparently hadn'tseen the latest numbers.While the "terrorist" epithet is laughable, the rhetoric from a high-profile Musk acolyte is noteworthy. It comes as Trump's team lays the groundwork for a new "War on Terror," expanding the definition of "terrorism" to include everyone from pro-Palestine activists to undocumented immigrants.And Musk's supporters are taking the bait. "Folks who do this are domestic terrorists," seethed Larkin's Lair, an "adult collector" of Transformers toys, under a video of a vandalized Tesla. The toy enthusiast included a screenshot of the definitions for "terrorism" and "violence," seemingly neither of which they bothered to read.While opinions will differ on the ethics of property destruction and theft, the move to lump "vandalism" in with "violence," and "protest" with "terror" is no accident. In the not-too-distant past, these tactics have been used to repress all kinds of progressive action, from workers movements to student marches to antiwar protests.As the global movement against Musk heats up, the onus should fall on those in power not to conflate terrorism with theft even if their cars end up on cinderblocks.More on Tesla protests: Wave of Vandalism and Protests Hit TeslaShare This Article

Image by Shawn Thew / Pool via Getty / FuturismAmid his newfound role as unelected government wrecker, Elon Musk's use of the powerful tranquilizer ketamine is once again in the press.AsThe Atlantic reports, research into the effects of sustained ketamine use may offer some insights into the increasingly bizarre antics of the South African-born gem mining scion who's admitted to using the drug to treat depression and who's allegedly indulged in it for recreational purposes, too.Back in 2010, English psychopharmacology researcher Celia Morgan, then a professor at University College London, published a study in the journal Addiction that tracked 120 frequent recreational ketamine users for a year.As Morgan told The Atlantic, everyone in that cohort from those who used it three times a month on average to those who did it 20 times per month had "profound" short- and long-term memory issuesand were "distinctly dissociated in their day-to-day existence."Along with those unsettling side effects, the psychopharmacology researcher and her team also found that regular users scored very high on delusional thinking scales and seemed to be convinced that they were receiving secret messages sent to them alone. Sounds kind of familiar, right?Delusions of grandeur are not, obviously, the sole provenance of ketamine users, and there's little doubt Musk had an outsized opinion of himself long before he discovered "Special K." But his behavior in recent years has grown more and more erratic, especially in the since his purchase of Twitter, in ways that seem to track with those descriptions of frequent ketamine use side effects.In a 2023 expos forThe New Yorker, journalist Ronan Farrow revealed that people close to the billionaire had grown concerned about his alleged ket habit, which those unnamed sources claimed had grown in then-recent years. Paired with his increasing self-imposed isolation and the stress from the many businesses he owns, those associates were worried that Musk may have been self-medicating.Less than a year after that article dropped, Musk revealed toformerCNN host Don Lemon that he does, in fact, use ketamine but as he claimed in the March 2024 interview, he has a prescription for it and only used it every other week. Though there aren't studies into the long-term effects of prescription ketamine dosages, that would put him within the threshold that Morgan, the English psychopharmacologist, described as "regular" use that can lead to memory impairment and delusions.Between then and now, a lot has changed for the multi-hyphenate drug enthusiast and if he's still using his special medicine with any regularity, it could very easily be affecting his work as Donald Trump's hatchet man.Share This Article