For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Southern Straps to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Series 12 and a nylon band from Southern Straps to go along with it.


Southern Straps is a California-based company that has been making high-quality bands for the Apple Watch since the device first launched in 2015, and the company's selection of bands offer a an alternative to Apple's bands in unique styles that Apple does not offer.


Southern Straps set out to make nylon NATO-style bands for the Apple Watch over a decade ago, and it is still making those same handcrafted watch straps today. With years of experience, Southern Straps has had time to perfect the band's look and construction.

Available for $60 or two for $105, each Southern Straps Apple Watch band is made from a single piece of nylon that is folded over, heat sealed, and stitched together for durability. The multi-step process makes sure that each band holds up for years of use, and they come with a five-year warranty.


Southern Straps offers over 10 color options, ranging from solid colors in green, black, and beige, to striped options in colorful combinations like blue and green, blue and red, khaki and red, blue and white, blue and orange, black and gray, and the classic red, white, and blue.

Bands can be ordered with hardware in black, silver, or gold to match the different Apple Watch models. There are two sizes: one that is compatible with 42mm to 49mm Apple Watch models, and one that is compatible with smaller 38mm to 42mm models. The bands work with every Apple Watch model from the original Apple Watch to the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the Series 12.


Pegged spring bars are included with each band so that you can change the hardware if you get an Apple Watch in a new size or a new color. Southern Straps bands are perfect for daily use and transition easily from work to working out.



We have an Apple Watch Series 12 for one lucky MacRumors reader, plus a Southern Straps band. 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(s) and send the prize(s). 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.


Southern Straps Giveaway
The contest will run from today (October 9) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 16. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after October 16 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 Series 12 and a Nylon Band From Southern Straps" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Apple is planning to introduce new products on Tuesday, October 13, Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak announced today. It won't be a traditional Apple event, but Apple has invited some members of the media to New York City to get some hands-on time with whatever's introduced.


Those of us not invited to the New York Experience are likely to be introduced to the new devices via press releases that'll come out on launch day. Since the NYC visits begin at 9:00 a.m. on the 13th, that may be when the product announcements will happen.

The video Joswiak shared gives us a major hint at what's coming, and as expected, it's home-related. We're expecting at least three new devices, including one all-new product.

Home Hub

We've been hearing rumors about Apple's home hub for months because it's been ready to ship and waiting on Siri AI. It's got a 6-inch display, and there are two varieties. One is meant to be mounted on the wall, and one is meant to be used with a half-dome speaker base.

‌Siri‌ AI is a central part of the hub, and they'll basically give users a way to get information and answers from ‌Siri‌. The hub will run a version of tvOS that could be called homeOS, with familiar Apple apps and widgets. It'll be a central home device, showing members of the family upcoming calendar events and other personalized information, along with offering an easy way to control connected smart home devices.

It will display the time when not in use, and it will be customizable so you can choose the widgets and apps you want to see. It has a camera so it can be used to make video calls, and it'll play videos too so you can put it in the kitchen and follow along with a recipe. Presence sensors and the camera will be able to tell the hub which member of the family is nearby, and it will show a custom interface for each person. It will use facial recognition for identification.

Pricing on the hub could start at around $350, and Apple envisions users putting several of the hubs in their homes.

HomePod mini

The HomePod mini is getting a refresh with new color options and a faster processor, plus an N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. We're expecting the ‌HomePod mini‌ to offer new ‌Siri‌ AI features.

Apple TV 4K

The Apple TV 4K is also getting an upgraded chip and more RAM. It could have the A19 or A19 Pro and either 8GB or 12GB RAM. It too will get the N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, and it is also expected to offer a full ‌Siri‌ AI experience.

Other Possibilities

There are more devices we're expecting Apple to launch before the end of the year, but Apple is going to hold another product launch on October 27 to introduce new Macs and the OLED iPad mini.

• iPad mini - The ‌iPad mini‌ is getting a major upgrade with an ‌OLED‌ display, improved waterproofing, and a faster chip. Expect it to be more expensive.


• OLED MacBook - Apple is planning to launch an ‌OLED‌ touchscreen MacBook, which could be a MacBook Pro or a new MacBook "Ultra." It's going to have the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the current ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, but it will have an all-new display and a thinner, lighter design. It's going to be a premium product that will likely cost more than the current 14-inch and 16-inch high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models.


• iMac - Apple is working on an M6 iMac.


• 14-inch MacBook Pro - We could get a 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with an M6 chip before the year ends.

We'll have full coverage of all of Apple's announcements on the 13th, plus we'll be sharing last-minute rumors ahead of the launch so make sure to stay tuned.
This article, "Apple's October 13 Launch: What's Coming" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Anthropic today updated its usage policy (via The Verge) to bar users from subjecting Claude to "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior."


Anthropic says the abuse rule is meant to apply only in extreme cases, where users "repeatedly act cruelly" toward the AI models with "no discernible purpose." The rule does not apply to ordinary user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research.

Claude models are already able to end such conversations with persistently abusive users, and ending the conversation will continue to be the main enforcement tool. When Claude ends a chat, no further messages can be sent in that conversation, but other chats are not affected.

Anthropic initially gave Claude the option to end a conversation in August 2025 while researching AI welfare. At the time, Anthropic said it was unsure whether Claude has moral status, but the company wanted low-cost ways to reduce risks to Claude. Anthropic found that Claude Opus 4 had a "robust and consistent aversion to harm." The model demonstrated a preference against dealing with dangerous tasks, apparent distress when speaking with users seeking abusive conversations, and a tendency to end harmful conversations when allowed to do so.

Anthropic's usage policy has been reorganized to bring together related clauses, and several other rules have changed.

• Deceptive campaigns - A new section on deceptive campaigns aggregates rules against political and commercial fraud and disinformation, prohibiting fake reviews, astroturfing, fake sites, and bots acting as humans.


• Elections - A narrower elections section prohibits deceiving voters and interfering with voting.


• Weapons - Claude can't be used to develop weapons software or components, and a new rule bans modifying biological or chemical agents to increase lethality or transmissibility. Users are also prohibited from using Claude to arm drones and unmanned systems.


• Law enforcement - Law enforcement rules have been rewritten. Claude can't decide or suggest who to investigate, arrest, charge, or prosecute. Tracking people without consent is not allowed, and there is a new ban on building surveillance tools. Doxxing is also prohibited.


• Physical actions - A new section on physical actions says that if Claude is controlling hardware that could harm someone, a qualified person has to watch the work and be ready to stop it if needed.


• Harmful content - There is a new rule that bans creating, sharing, or threatening to share non-consensual intimate imagery and the tools used to make it.

Most of the changes clarify Anthropic's existing rules and are targeted at misuse Anthropic has tracked. Anthropic says it found state media outlets, government propaganda offices, and commercial firms were using Claude to run networks of fake accounts and fabricated news sites, leading to the new deceptive campaigns section.

The new policy takes effect on November 12. More information on the changes can be found on Anthropic's website, as can the full usage policy.
This article, "Anthropic Says Users Can't Be Needlessly Cruel to Claude" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums