Welcome to 95Mac Daily for Thursday, April 2, 2026. I'm your host, Chance Miller. We are sponsored this week by Backblaze. Leading off today, the new Studio Display XDR has gotten a rare Apple price drop, if you picked the option without the stand included. The Studio Display XDR launched last month with a starting price of $32.99. What was weird about that price is that it was the same, whether you opted for Apple's tilt adjustable stand or the model with a vase amount. With a vase amount, you can then go out and get your own stand and attach it to your liking. It didn't make sense, and now Apple has quietly updated the pricing to make the vase amount option of the Studio Display XDR $400 cheaper. So the vase amount version is now $28.99, and the version with Apple stand is still $32.99. Clearly it must cost Apple significantly less to manufacture the vase amount option than the model with the included stand, so again, it was pretty weird that this wasn't the case from the start. Regardless of the reason, though, a 12% price drop in less than a month after launch is an incredibly rare occurrence for any Apple product in any situation. And if you already bought the Studio Display XDR with a vase amount, you will be getting a full refund for that $400. You can either talk to Apple support and manually request the refund, or it will be refunded automatically to the card on which you placed the purchase. We're sponsored this week by Backblaze. If you travel with your MacBook, you're carrying your digital life with you. iCloud keeps your files in sync across devices while Time Machine protects you locally. But what if while you're traveling, your MacBook is lost or damaged? Would you have an off-site backup? Well Backblaze runs automatically and creates a separate backup of your entire Mac in the cloud, including external drives. I've used Backblaze before, and it's easy to use. You set it up once and you forget about it. So iCloud for sync, Time Machine for local backup, and Backblaze for off-site protection. Try it free at Backblaze.com slash 9 to 5 Mac and get 20% off with code 9 to 5 daily. My thanks to Backblaze for their support of the show. Next up today, Apple disappointed some when it launched the iPhone 17 Pro without the option to buy it in black. As a refresher, the iPhone 17 Pro colors are Midnight, Silver, and Cosmic Orange. Now, a leaker with a decent track record says that anyone hoping this would change with the iPhone 18 Pro is going to be disappointed. The rumor says that it seems Apple's work on a black 18 Pro has been discontinued yet again. This is reportedly due to some sort of manufacturing problems for Apple, potentially with making a black aluminum finish that is both durable and looks good on the 18 Pro. So far rumors have said that the iPhone 18 Pro could come in a new deep red color, alongside some more traditional options like silver and perhaps the dark blue that we have today. The Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro has been a runaway hit for Apple, so it makes sense that the company wants to stick to these bright and vibrant colors for at least one of the iPhone 18 Pro models. What remains unclear as of right now, however, is whether the iPhone 18 Pro will also be available in orange, or if Apple will stick to three colors again with a deep red, a silver, and perhaps a dark blue. But the one thing that does seem clear based on the rumors right now is that Apple does not have plans to release a black iPhone 18 Pro. In other news today, Apple has released a firmware update for AirTag 2. This marks the first firmware update since the device was introduced earlier this year. When the first AirTag launched in 2021, it quickly became popular for tracking things like luggage, keys, and other important items. But it was also unfortunately used by bad actors for unwanted tracking of other people. Apple eventually instituted anti-stalking measures, including sending notifications to iPhone users potentially being unknowingly tracked and playing a sound using the AirTag speaker to help them find it. AirTag 2 was upgraded with an improved speaker that Apple says is up to 50% louder. This is great for anyone looking for a lost AirTag, but it also benefits those searching for an AirTag that they don't own that might be used for tracking them. In this week's new AirTag firmware update, Apple says it's made a change to the noise that plays when an unwanted AirTag is detected. Apple says the firmware update, quote, updates the unwanted tracking sound to more easily locate an unknown AirTag during precision finding, end quote. Though the release notes don't specify models, as far as we are aware this change only applies to the new AirTag 2, not the first generation model. It's not explicitly clear exactly how Apple has updated the noise, perhaps the tone has been modified to be easier to hear at a distance, or maybe it's just louder than before. But whatever the specifics may be, this is clearly a good change by Apple as it continues to refine the anti-stalking features of AirTag 2. Running out today, Apple has pulled the plug on all payment processing in Russia. This means that it's no longer possible for residents of the country to make app purchases or renew subscriptions. This includes subscriptions to Apple services like iCloud Plus and Apple TV. Apple announced the change in a new support document saying that payment processing is no longer available for purchases made on the App Store or other Apple media services in Russia. New purchases including in-app purchases and subscription renewals are no longer available in Russia unless you have funds in your Apple account balance. This will also affect your existing subscriptions. And Apple says that if you have funds in your Apple account balance, you can continue to make purchases and renew subscriptions so long as those funds are available. Again, this includes all Apple subscriptions too, including Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple One, and more. So this affects Apple subscriptions, App Store subscriptions, App Store purchases, and App purchases, and basically everything else. One particular concern would be iCloud Plus subscriptions as the inability to renew these could mean Apple customers would lose access to their data. Apple says, however, that data will remain accessible even after the subscription ends. The primary motivation for this change appears to be response to a new government order in Russia. And Apple was also recently fined after accidentally breaching sanctions against Russia. This comes over three years after Apple halted all sales of its hardware products in Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine. That wraps up another episode of 9 to 5 Mac Daily. As always, you can find all of the latest Apple news on 9to5mac.com. Follow along with me on threads at Chance H. Miller. And we'll be back tomorrow for a new episode of 9 to 5 Mac Daily.
