SwitchBot today debuted the SwitchBot Lock Vision and the Lock Vision Pro, two Matter-enabled smart locks that include facial recognition technology for quick door unlocking.


With Matter-over-WiFi, the locks are compatible with HomeKit and they support NFC, so you can use them with an Apple Home setup. SwitchBot also included "advanced 3D structured light" facial recognition that's able to recognize approved lock users in under one second.

SwitchBot says the facial recognition is comparable to 3D facial recognition used by "flagship smartphones," and it can't be spoofed with photos or videos, even when wearing glasses, hats, or makeup. It uses more than 20,000 infrared dots to create an accurate 3D facial map that SwitchBot says is capable of millimeter-level recognition.

The locks also include multiple other unlocking methods, including NFC, passwords, iPhone app controls, the Apple Watch, Siri-based voice commands, geofencing, and physical keys. The Pro version of the lock adds palm vein and fingerprint access too, for even more ways to get into your house. Palm vein detection works without touching the lock, even if hands are wet or dirty.

SwitchBot's Lock Vision and Lock Vision Pro have 12-month battery life and emergency backup power options. They are meant to replace a standard deadbolt, and include mmWave radar detection to determine when someone is approaching the door. No hub is required for the locks, and biometric data is stored on-device.

The SwitchBot Lock Vision is priced at $170, while the SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro is available for $230. SwitchBot has a $40 launch discount on Amazon and on its website.
This article, "SwitchBot Launches Two Matter Smart Locks With 3D Facial Recognition" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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If you have a Mac and a cat, you've probably run into a situation where your cat sits on your computer keyboard. Whether it's because Macs are warm or because they want to distract you from the screen absorbing all of your attention, laptops tend to attract cats.


A new Mac app called Cats Lock adds cat-proofing that keeps your cat from doing damage to whatever you're working on when it gets on your keyboard, and it can even be set to shoo the cat off.

You can click to turn on Cats Lock from the menu bar or use a quick keyboard shortcut, and it prevents cats from being able to activate the keys. Cats can be particularly good at finding odd keyboard shortcuts you never knew existed and making changes that are annoying to undo, so Cats Lock is useful for preventing that. It also has an option to cut sound, so there's no more incessant beeping of keys when your cat gets on your keyboard and holds down a button.


Putting your Mac in sleep mode is an alternative, but you can also set Cats Lock to alert you or make a loud noise when your cat gets on the keyboard. Some of the built-in sounds like a barking dog, vacuum cleaner, or hissing cat might serve as a deterrent even when you're not around. You can also upload your own sounds.

Cats Lock stays on until your Mac goes to sleep, at which point it turns off so you're not locked out of your Mac because of the app.

Cats Lock can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $2.99.
This article, "Cats Lock for Mac Stops Your Cat From Causing Keyboard Havoc" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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OpenAI is adding a new personal finance feature to ChatGPT, letting people connect their financial accounts to the chatbot to get budgeting advice.


Through a partnership with Plaid, ChatGPT users can connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and other financial accounts to get advice. OpenAI says ChatGPT supports more than 12,000 financial institutions.

ChatGPT will provide a dashboard of how money is being spent, along with an up-to-date view of portfolio performance, spending, subscriptions, upcoming payments, and more. It will also let users ask finance-related questions, and OpenAI provided a sample of questions ChatGPT will be able to answer with access to a user's financial accounts.

• Help me build a plan to buy a house in my area in the next 5 years


• What did my recent vacation actually cost me?


• I feel like I've been spending more recently. Has anything changed?


• Can I afford to take a lower-paying job if it gives me more flexibility to be home with the kids?


• What's the biggest risk in my portfolio?


• Look at my subscriptions and help me choose what to cancel

OpenAI says that connecting financial accounts lets ChatGPT provide a more personal and complete finance guidance experience. ChatGPT will be able to see balances, transactions, investments, and liabilities, but it can't see full account numbers or make changes to accounts.

The new personal finance feature is available to Pro ChatGPT users located in the United States, and it works on iOS and the web. While integration is limited to Plaid right now, OpenAI is adding Intuit soon. Support for ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be added in the future after OpenAI improves it after feedback from Pro users.
This article, "ChatGPT Can Now Connect to Your Financial Accounts for Budgeting Advice" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Lululook to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and a Qi2.2 25W 3-in-1 Charging Station to go along with it.


Lululook makes all kinds of accessories for Apple devices, and it has several Apple Watch charging options with different capabilities and price points. The $68 3-in-1 Charging Station is one of Lululook's newest options, and it supports the Qi2.2 specification for MagSafe charging speeds up to 25W.

With 25W charging, the Lululook Charging Station can charge an iPhone at the same speeds as Apple's 25W ‌MagSafe‌ chargers. Faster charging is available on the iPhone 17 models, the iPhone 16 Plus, and the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max. The ‌iPhone 16‌ and 16 Pro charge at up to 22.5W, and the iPhone Air charges at up to 20W. Other models charge at 15W. Lululook's charger provides enough power to get an iPhone to 50 percent battery in 30 minutes.


There's also a pop-out Apple Watch charger and a charging platform for the AirPods, so you can charge up three devices at once. The Apple Watch charger is a fast charger, so you'll get maximum charging speeds on the Apple Watch Ultra models and standard Apple Watch models that support faster charging.


When not in use, the charger folds down into a slim square, making it ideal for travel. Lululook offers the 3-in-1 Charging Station in three colors to match Apple's iPhone 17 Pro lineup, including a bright orange. There are silicone pads on each charging area to keep devices scratch-free.

Strong magnets keep the iPhone in place while it is charging, and the hinged design lets it be positioned at appropriate angles for watching videos or gaming. It supports an iPhone in either landscape or portrait mode, and it is powered with USB-C. It comes with a 45W power adapter, a 3.2-foot USB-C cable, and a portable organizer for keeping everything together when on the go.

For those who don't need fast charging and want to spend less money, Lululook also has a Qi2 3-in-1 Charging Station that's available for $35. Qi2 charging is limited to 15W, and that's the main difference compared to the Qi2.2 charger that Lululook offers.


The chargers otherwise have a similar design, and the Qi2 Charging Station features a platform for charging the iPhone, a pop-out Apple Watch charger, and a Qi charging pad at the base for the AirPods. It comes in black or gray, and when not in use, it folds into a square.

The charger can be used upright or laid flat on a desktop if preferred. It ships with a 30W power adapter, USB-C cable, and travel case.


We have an ‌Apple Watch Ultra 3‌ and a Qi2.2 3-in-1 Charging Station for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.


Lululook Giveaway
The contest will run from today (May 15) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 22. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after May 22 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and 25W 3-in-1 Charging Station From Lululook" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Rumors suggest Apple plans to expand Apple-designed modems to the entire iPhone 18 lineup, ending support for Qualcomm modems. The transition will bring speed and efficiency improvements, along with a little-known privacy benefit.


In iOS 26.3, Apple added a Limit Precise Location setting that cuts down on the amount of location data that's available to mobile networks, improving user privacy.

Mobile networks determine your location using information from cellular towers that a device connects to, but with Limit Precise Location enabled, some of the data typically provided to mobile networks is restricted. Instead of seeing location down to a street address, carriers may be limited to the neighborhood where a device is located.

The problem is that this feature is currently only available on devices with an Apple-designed C1 or C1X modem, which includes the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e, and M5 iPad Pro. Devices with Qualcomm modems like the iPhone 17 Pro models do not have the Limit Precise Location setting.

With the iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone Fold expected to use Apple modem technology, this is likely a privacy option that is set to expand to the full iPhone lineup.

Reducing location precision does not impact signal quality or user experience, nor does it affect the precision of location data provided to emergency responders during an emergency call. It is only meant to limit the location data given to cellular carriers, and it is distinct from location data shared with apps through Location Services.

While Apple's next set of iPhones will all likely have the new privacy feature, carriers do have to implement support. So far there are a limited number of carriers that have added the feature, but if it expands to the entire iPhone lineup and there is customer demand, it could see more widespread adoption.

In the United States, only Boost Mobile supports limiting precise location data, but EE, BT, and Sky all support it in the UK, while carriers in Austria, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Thailand have also adopted support and all of these carriers have the setting turned on by default. Users on a physical SIM or eSIM from any carrier in the EU or UK can also manually turn the setting on. A full list of supported carriers and regions is available on Apple's website.

The C2 modem that Apple is rumored to be working on is more capable than the C1 or C1X, and it will offer similar performance to Qualcomm's newest modems. It is expected to support mmWave 5G, which is not a feature of the C1 or C1X.
This article, "Apple's iPhone 18 Modem Switch Comes With a Quiet Privacy Benefit" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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