Enlarge / Apple's AirPods Max, a close analog to what Sonos plans to launch in April. (credit: Apple)

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman isn't just reporting about the inner workings of Apple; he's breaking news about upcoming Sonos products. In a report published Tuesday, Gurman revealed that Sonos is months away from releasing a competitor to high-end wireless headphones after years of vague rumors.

Additionally, Sonos is reportedly working on a Roku Ultra- or Apple TV 4K-like set-top box that would allow users to watch video from a wide range of streaming TV apps.

The Bloomberg article says the device will cost between $150 and $200 and will be a small black box. We've seen some prior reports that flesh this out a bit; Sonos has been working on something called Home Theater OS (which would be Android-based) for some time, and voice control is said to be a key feature. Sonos is also considering launching its own streaming video service. The device will support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, and it will seamlessly work with Sonos' existing home theater speakers.

Enlarge (credit: Michael Reaves / Stringer | Getty Images North America )

Lawmakers apparently balked after learning that Apple canceled the critically acclaimed weekly streaming talk show, The Problem with Jon Stewart , last month—reportedly over issues with the show's planned programming related to both China and artificial intelligence .

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives' Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party urged Apple to explain its decision to end production of The Problem with Jon Stewart and "accelerate its efforts to reduce its dependence on" China. These steps, lawmakers wrote, are critical to help address "broader concerns about indirect Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence over the creative expression of American artists and companies on CCP-related topics."

While lawmakers acknowledged that Apple has "the right to determine what content is appropriate for their streaming service," they argued that "the coercive tactics of a foreign power should not be directly or indirectly influencing these determinations."

Enlarge / Apple TV's adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation . (credit: YouTube/Apple TV+)

Apple announced monthly price hikes for several online services on Wednesday, including its catchall Apple One subscription service.

Apple TV+ will jump from $6.99 to $9.99 per month, while Apple Arcade will go from $4.99 to $6.99 monthly. Apple News+ used to cost $9.99 per month, but now it's $12.99.

Those three services are bundled alongside iCloud and (in the Premier tier) Fitness+ in Apple One, the company's pseudo-Amazon Prime all-in-one offering. That service will also increase in price. Individual plans will go from $16.95 to $19.95 monthly, family plans will go from $22.95 to $25.95, and Premier plans will now cost $37.95 instead of $32.95.

Enlarge / Jon Stewart on his Apple TV show. (credit: Apple)

Jon Stewart and his weekly talk show The Problem with Jon Stewart are out at Apple, according to reports from The New York Times and Variety . Apple canceled the show just weeks before its third season began taping. Its cancellation sheds some light on the conflict of priorities Apple faces as it leans more into content rather than just selling tools, platforms, and gadgets.

The New York Times article cites "several people with knowledge of the situation," saying that staffers working on the show were told at the end of the day Thursday that it would not move forward.

The reason for the shift? Stewart and Apple executives "had disagreements over some of the topics and guests," the sources said. Specifically, they claimed Stewart told staffers that Apple execs took issue with planned programming related to both China and artificial intelligence, and noted that with the 2024 US election coming up, there might have been additional opportunities for disagreement then.

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  The new tvOS home screen in tvOS 17 puts six icons in a row instead of five. It was the most I had noticed about a tvOS update in years. [credit: Andrew Cunningham ]

Consider this a mini-review: Apple is releasing tvOS 17 today, and the update is probably the most useful one that Apple has released since the very early days of tvOS in 2015 .

Why? Not because of some stunningly innovative new feature or a great app that tames the tangle of competing streaming services. It's because Apple added an extra column of app icons. There are now six icons in a row instead of five. Revolutionary.

That probably comes across as more sarcastic or cutting than poor tvOS deserves. It is genuinely nice to have that extra column of icons, particularly in the top row where apps can use the carousel that consumes the top half of the Apple TV's home screen.

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Apple is releasing the initial versions of most of its major operating system updates today, following their announcement at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June and the unveiling of new iPhone and Apple Watch hardware last week. Compatible devices can now download the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 updates without signing up for one of Apple's beta programs.

The iOS 17 update this year is fairly mild; it includes a smart-display-esque feature called StandBy that can keep your screen on when your phone is plugged in and placed on a stand, plus "contact posters" that display full-screen photos when someone in your contacts list is calling, improved autocorrect, and live voicemail transcription.

Many of iOS 17's announced features, including a new journaling app, several Messages improvements, and Internet-enabled AirDrop transfers, will be coming in later iOS 17 releases. This is a pretty typical practice for Apple these days, though the list of "later this year" features ( via MacRumors ) does seem a bit longer than usual.