I've used Apple Notes for years. It's where I keep all my ideas, random thoughts and lists to stay organized. But like a lot of the Apple apps that come with the phone, I'd never really stopped to explore what it could do. So I decided to try something different. Instead of searching YouTube or scrolling through Reddit for tips, I asked ChatGPT one simple question:

"How can I make Apple Notes more useful in my everyday life?"

The suggestions were surprisingly practical. Rather than suggesting third-party tools, ChatGPT showed me how to unlock power features already sitting inside the app. Here are the eight changes that completely transformed my daily workflow.

1. Create a 'Dashboard' note instead of dozens of random notes

My biggest problem was finding notes after making them. What good was a brainstorm if the ideas were lost in my phone? To solve this, ChatGPT suggested building a single "Dashboard" note (essentially a Map of Content) using internal note links to connect everything I use regularly.

This brilliant trick put a halt to endlessly searching through hundreds of flat notes. Now I open one main note and use it as the control center. It turns Apple Notes into a personal wiki.

Mine now includes linked sections for:

Work & Projects

Story & Article Ideas

Family Reminders & Shared Lists

Travel Itineraries

Frequently Used Links & Resources

2. Pin the Notes you actually need

I’d ignored the Pin feature for years. Now, my Dashboard, weekly to-do list and active project notes stay permanently anchored to the top of the app. It saves more time than I expected because I’m no longer hunting through old entries several times a day.

3. Turn one giant note into collapsible sections

I tend to dump everything into giant, sprawling text files. ChatGPT suggested organizing long notes using "Headings" combined with collapsible sections. Now, for long-form brainstorming or article ideas, I can expand or hide categories as needed. It keeps huge notes organized and very easy to navigate.

4. Scan paper documents intead of taking photos

I used to snap blurry camera photos of physical documents. Not only did that clutter my photos, but the quality of the image just wasn't good. But Apple Notes has a built-in scanner that crops, flattens and sharpens paper into high-contrast PDFs.

I now scan warranty info, school forms, insurance paperwork and receipts directly into designated folders. They look cleaner, take up less storage and the text inside them is fully searchable.

5. Let ChatGPT organize messy brain dumps

This ended up being my favorite workflow. When I have messy, unorganized meeting notes or rapid-fire ideas, I copy the mess into ChatGPT and ask it to structure the information:

"Organize these notes into bulleted categories."

"Turn these raw thoughts into an prioritized action list."

"Summarize key takeaways and highlight unresolved questions."

Once ChatGPT cleans and formats the text, I paste the polished version back into Apple Notes. It gives me the speed of raw note-taking with the clarity of an organized system.

6. Build reusable Note templates

There are certain structures I use over and over. I now keep a dedicated folder of master templates for:

Packing Lists

Weekly Planning & Reviews

Meeting Agendas

Vacation Itineraries

Whenever I need one, I simply duplicate the template note instead of building it from scratch.

7. Use smart folders & tags to organize automatically

Instead of manually moving notes into nested subfolders, I started tagging entries with hashtags like #work, #recipes, #travel or #ideas.

Using Smart Folders, Apple Notes automatically pulls every tagged note into its corresponding hub. I can save a quick thought, slap a tag on it, and trust that it will route itself to the right place.

Bonus: trigger 'Quick Notes' and auto-templates with iOS Shortcuts

To take automation a step further, I paired Apple Notes with Apple’s native Shortcuts app and Quick Notes.

Quick Notes: Swiping up from the bottom-right corner of an iPad or tapping the Quick Note control in iPhone's Control Center opens an instant scratchpad without opening the main app.

Automated Templates: I set up a simple Shortcut on my home screen titled "New Weekly Plan." Clicking it automatically generates a fresh, pre-formatted Apple Note with the current date, ready for my weekly review.

My biggest takeaway

Before asking ChatGPT to help, I had pretty much given up on my notes app and resorted to just emailing myself everything. That has led to a whole slew of disorganization issues. I needed a solution and ChatGPT delivered!

I expected AI to suggest something like Notion or Obsidian. Instead, it showed me how to get 90% of those advanced workflows using tools Apple had provided all along.

The biggest improvement was getting my Apple Notes to a place where they are useful again, despite being full of ideas. ChatGPT helped me go from a digital sticky note graveyard to the backbone of my everyday organization.

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It appears likely that Apple is looking to make a big shift in how it treats leased iPhones and payment plans. The changes include a new Upgrade Program and leaked iOS 27 beta code that suggests Apple could restrict iPhones when customers skip payments.

Apple Upgrade Program

The code leak (from 9to5Mac) appears to coincide with a report from yesterday that Apple is planning to ditch the iPhone Upgrade Program in favor of one that lets you lease different Apple devices.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will partner with Klarna to finance the program, which would cover most iPhones, Macs, MacBooks, iPads and Apple Watches, save the entry-level models. The leases would run between 24 and 36 months depending on which device you get.

Like car leases, the Program would let you pay off your device or upgrade to a new model before the lease ends. At the end of the term, you could keep the device or return it.

iOS 27

With that in mind, according to 9to5Mac, iOS 27 contains code that reveals a "broader system for managing a financed iPhone." This system apparently includes the ability to restrict apps and service if a payment is missed.

There is something called App Managed Features which would authorize financing and perform status checks, presumably to ensure payments have been made.

If a payment is missed, the iPhone would be put in "Restricted Mode." This mode "blocks access to most apps." A small set of apps would remain available, including:

• Accessibility Reader
• App Store
• Health
• Magnifier
• Phone
• Clock
• Settings
• Wallet
• Passwords
• The Restricted Mode interface itself

Some apps like Messages and Home or safety apps might also remain accessible. Though it seems the financial provider has control over the exceptions.

Apparently, the number of missed payments that trigger Restricted Mode is up to the financial provider and their policies.

When could Restricted Mode arrive?

Apple is rumored to launch the new Apple Upgrade Program next week on July 28. However, 9to5Mac couldn't find references to the Restricted Mode in the current beta code or iOS 26.6 RC, which was released yesterday.

It's possible Apple could launch either feature later.

We'll know in less than a week whether or not Apple decides to actually launch its revised Upgrade Program.

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Apple’s Mac lineup will get a major overhaul starting later this year. That’s according to Bloomberg reporter and Apple tipster Mark Gurman, whose sources gave him a rundown of the upcoming Macs.

Things will kick off with a refreshed entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro featuring the new M6 chip, along with a new iMac that will also sport the yet-to-be-announced processor. Development of these Macs is reportedly complete, but they aren’t likely to ship until the fall.

The next biggest release should be higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBooks with OLED panels and a new design. These brand-new editions to the MacBook line will have M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Apple will reportedly release these MacBooks in late 2026 or early 2027.

New MacBook Air models are expected early in 2027. These 13- and 15-inch laptops will apparently resemble the current models, though Apple is reportedly developing an OLED model for 2028. There will be another MacBook Pro with a new design and packing an M7 chip sometime in 2027.

Additionally, Apple is working on a refreshed MacBook Neo. This model reportedly runs on the updated A19 Pro chip and more RAM. The report doesn’t say anything about pricing or when this laptop will launch.

Gurman’s report also says that a new iMac with an OLED screen is in the works, but won’t be released until later. Apple is also planning new Mac mini and Mac Studio models with refreshed chips. This includes the M5 Pro and M6 for the Mac mini, and the M5 Max and M5 Ultra for the Mac Studio.

Outlook

As always, take this report with a grain of salt, as Apple hasn’t made any official announcements about these Mac models. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to if all of this is accurate, though with the ongoing RAM crisis, it’s anyone’s guess when these computers will actually release and how much they’ll cost. As always, stay tuned for more as we hear further reports.

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Apple is reportedly planning on ditching its long-running iPhone Upgrade plan for a new "leasing" program. The new "Apple Upgrade" program is allegedly going to launch at the end of the month.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the new plan will be similar to how a car lease works with options to upgrade a new device early or keep or return the iPhone at the end of the lease.

One upside of the plan is that it will supposedly cover most Apple devices including iPhones, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch models. Apple is allegedly partnering with Klarna, a digital banking platform based out of Sweden. You may be most familiar with Klarna and its "Pay Later" program, similar to offerings from PayPal and Affirm.

However, entry-level devices like the base model iPad, Apple Watch SE and MacBook Neo are reportedly not eligible for the new program. Additionally, Apple is not including AppleCare with the plan, unlike the iPhone Upgrade Program. Unfortunate since Apple just raised AppleCare subscription prices.

How the 'Apple Upgrade' program could work

Per Gurman, starting July 28 this Apple Upgrade program would replace the iPhone Upgrade plan with 24-month leases for iPhones and Apple Watches, and 36-month leases for iPads and Macs. Apparently, you will need to be approved via a soft credit check.

Current iPhone Upgrade subscribers can upgrade to the newest model, presuming they've kept up 12 months of payments. Gurman says you'll be able to upgrade to a new model earlier if you want, like a car lease. That would just extend the lease another two years.

Allegedly, Apple is planning to pitch the change as a way for customers to have lower payments versus current financing programs. Most customers, at least in the U.S., who don't purchase directly from Apple likely lock into contracts with the big three network carriers that offer "free" iPhones, but really it's subsidized into your bill over the contract period.

What it replaces

The iPhone Upgrade Program has existed since 2015 as a way for Apple-buyers to upgrade to the premium iPhone at a lower monthly cost than the upfront price. It is (or was) marketed as a first-party program directly through Apple.

Importantly, the iPhone Upgrade program let you get a new iPhone every year (after 12 installments) without being tied to one carrier. Apple also threw in its AppleCare+ warranty, which includes up to two years of hardware repairs, software support and up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage (subject to an additional service fee).

Beyond that, it means Apple is operating through a new partner, Klarna, instead of Citizens One in the U.S. and Barclays in the U.K. It mostly means that Apple continues not having to bear the risk of financing.

It's not clear from Gurman's report if current subscribers to the iPhone Upgrade Program will be pushed over to the new Apple Upgrade plan, especially with the lack of AppleCare.

Lease to own?

One of the fears surrounding the ongoing RAM crisis is that companies will force you to rent your computers instead owning them moving forward. This does feel like Apple attempting to build their version of that concept.

Earlier this year, comments made by Amazon's Jeff Bezos resurfaced when he claimed that computing wasn't going to be something rented off the grid. "That's not going to last. It makes no sense. You're going to buy compute off the grid. That's AWS," Bezos predicted.

In February, HP launched a laptop subscription service that lets you pay a monthly fee for an AI-powered PC that starts around $34.99 per month. We did the math and found that after three years, you'd be overpaying for the laptops.

Phones and laptops are expensive, with starting prices for a decent model starting around $700. For many, having that kind of scratch on hand can be tough, but a phone and laptop are nearly essential in today's world.

Plus, as we've repeatedly found with digital games, movies and ebooks, it means you don't own the product, which also means companies can take them away whenever they want.

The next big fight in tech between the little guy and big corporations may be over the right to own the things we pay for.

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The iPhone 18 Pro models are right around the corner, but September's models may be merely a stopgap until the 20th anniversary next year.

We're expecting big changes to come with the iPhone 20, and one of them may include an increased display size.

Regular Apple tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) posted on Weibo that Apple is testing out a 7-inch display for the iPhone 20. Which, admittedly, is more of a step than a leap over the existing 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max, but it would still be the largest iPhone display to date.

"An exclusive and forward-looking information shows Apple is proofing a super-large screen with a physical size of 6.96 inches and a standard size of 7 inches," DCS wrote (machine translated).

In response to a comment, DCS claimed that the aspect ratio would be similar to the iPhone 17 Pro Max "making it comfortable to hold."

It's an interesting rumor with the caveat that we're more than a year away from the anniversary edition and Apple is known to test new features all the time, even if they don't make it into the next phone.

Borderless display

Notable Samsung leaker Ice Universe posted a similar rumor about the iPhone 20 yesterday, July 21. They suggested that Apple will achieve this larger size by decreasing the bezels on the display.

Both DCS and Ice Universe's posts seem to lend credence to previous rumors that Apple is working on a quad-curved screen for the 2027 iPhone. This means the iPhone 20 could have an all-glass design that wraps around the phone to the already glass and ceramic rear panel. The illusion will be that the iPhone 20 is completely made of glass.

A few more iPhone 20 rumors

With so much time in between and the iPhone 18 family likely just over a month away, we don't know much about the 20th anniversary iPhone beyond the recurring rumors of an all-glass design.

A few other tidbits have suggested that there may be two iPhone 20 models that would replace the Pro and Pro Max iterations. But it's not clear if that means the base models would also disappear.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also reported that the iPhone 20 will run on a 2nm A21 chipset, meaning it will certainly be more efficient and more powerful than the current 3nm A series. We'll have to wait until we can test it ourselves to find just how powerful it is though.

Alongside the expanded display, rumors suggest Apple may ditch the cutout for the front camera and Face ID in favor of under-glass versions. To be clear, this rumor has been circulating for every iPhone going back to the iPhone 14, so take this one with a grain of salt.

Other rumors suggest we may see solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, a stronger version of Ceramic Shield and a 6,000 mAh battery.

In the meantime, you can check what's happening with this year's fall event by checking out our official hubs for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra.

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Following the launch of the iOS 27 public beta early last week, the fourth iteration of the developer beta is now rolling out as well. Since the developer beta is slightly ahead of the public option, this means there are a bunch of new features coming to those of you that signed up.

This update isn't particularly extravagant — offering a few small upgrades and fixes rather than a bunch of new features. However, the changes are important quality of life updates, which should improve your overall iOS 27 experience — either as a beta tester or once the official version lands later this year.

Here's what's changed in iOS 27 beta 4.

New features in iOS 27 beta 4

Changes have come to Siri, with the most noticeable update being a new "splash screen" that appears when you summon the AI from either the Dynamic Island or your home screen. This features a little more information about the "All-New Siri" and gives a brief explainer for those users who may not be familiar with what the changes to Siri mean.

The recent apps menu in the pull-down menu has also been fixed with this new update, with the app options no longer appearing grayed out.

Siri's Expressive Voice feature has been drip feeding us updates over the course of multiple beta updates. Beta 3 added the ability to change the pace and expressiveness for two distinct voices. iOS 27 beta 4 adds new voices and an array of new English-language accents that you can choose from. However, the customization options are still limited to those original two American accents for the time being.

Siri's settings now include a feature to adjust the length of previews in the Siri app too. This lets you pick anywhere between zero lines of preview and five.

The Control Center now supports the AirPods Pro adaptive mode slider, which was introduced in iOS 27 beta 3. This means you can alter the level of ANC and transparency on your AirPods Pro 2, Pro 3 or AirPods 4 without necessarily having to go into the AirPods app first.

Apple TV app now includes a toggle that will set Apple TV to automatically download upcoming episodes of your favorite streaming shows. So long as the show is in your "Continue Watching" list, Apple TV will automatically download the next two episodes, and automatically delete old ones once you've finished watching.

Simply head to Settings > Apps > TV > Automatic Downloads. It's a quick process, and means it should be a lot harder to find yourself caught out with no new episodes to watch offline.

Other smaller inclusions include a new "Zoom Photos to Fill" toggle in Apple Photos, which automatically fits your photos to match your screen's aspect ratio. The camera app now has an option for ProRes log Format if ProRes is switched on, while Wi-Fi settings give you the choice to turn off Connectivity Assist for individual Wi-Fi networks.

Sadly Apple has also removed the wallpaper preview in the Notification Center, which lets you see a cutout of your wallpaper's subject as you're swiping down. It's unclear why, but I'd guess that it was probably a bug that wasn't supposed to be there.

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Watch out, MacBook Neo! The new Dell XPS 13 is here, and it could arguably be the best budget laptop available. With a starting price of $699, it packs many of the features you’d find in higher-end XPS laptops. Given the ongoing RAM crisis, this notebook is seriously worth considering for what it offers.

Unlike most budget Windows laptops, the XPS 13 has a CNC aluminum chassis built to the same standards as its more expensive XPS counterparts. Not only does it look great, but it’s also the thinnest XPS laptop ever. Toss in other features, such as a vivid 2.5K touch display, a backlit keyboard, and fast performance, and you have a winner.

I’ve spent 48 hours with the Dell XPS 13 and find that it lives up to the hype. To be clear, I tested the model with 16GB of RAM, which retails for $899. I’ll review the model with 8GB of RAM soon, but for now, here’s what I think of the new Dell XPS 13.

Dell XPS 13 (2026): Specs

Dell XPS 13 (2026): Design

“Wow, that’s light,” was the first thing I said when I picked up the XPS 13. And that wasn’t just my brain playing tricks on me. At 2.2 pounds, this laptop is lighter than the 2.7-pound 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Neo. This is exactly the kind of laptop I want to travel with since it’s so light — a fact that was very clear when I barely felt it in my backpack when I brought the XPS 13 from the office to my apartment.

The smooth aluminum chassis also ensures that the XPS 13 is plenty sturdy, as it doesn’t easily bend or flex. This is a far cry from the plastic laptops I’m used to in this price range. I’m glad that Dell didn’t sacrifice build quality to drop the price, as the aluminum casing is an important selling point here.

Another big selling point for anyone deciding between the XPS 13 and the MacBook Neo is the former’s backlit keyboard. This is something some folks don’t think about, since many laptops have backlit keyboards, but if you work at night or just need help seeing the keys, it’s a crucial feature.

Dell XPS 13 (2026): Display

The Dell XPS 13 has a 13.4-inch 2.5K-resolution touchscreen display. Though it’s not an OLED panel, everything looks bright and colorful to me. When running a video featuring colorful animals, I was impressed by the color representation and accuracy. Naturally, text-heavy websites are very clear.

As you can see from our display benchmarks, the XPS 13 delivers solid color representation (sRGB and DCI-P3) and color accuracy (Delta-E). While Dell’s notebook has higher resolution and touch support, the MacBook Neo matches the XPS 13 in color representation and accuracy. However, the Neo's display is overall brighter, especially with SDR content.

While the 13-inch MacBook Air has a slightly taller display at 13.6 inches, everything is still clear on the XPS 13’s display. This is a big win, especially since laptops in this price range tend to have duller displays.

Dell XPS 13 (2026): Performance

The XPS 13 features the new Wildcat Lake CPU and gives me my first chance to test a laptop with Intel’s lower-end Series 3 processor. Our review unit also has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. While these specs aren’t mind-blowing, they get the job done.

Even with 15 Microsoft Edge tabs open and a YouTube video running in the background, the XPS 13 didn’t noticeably slow down. My experience aligns with our CPU benchmarks, which show solid single- and multi-core scores.

Even with its 8GB of RAM, the MacBook Neo has a slight edge in CPU performance, underscoring the incredible efficiency of Apple’s affordable laptop. As for the Handbrake video transcoding test, the MacBook Neo performed the task about 10 seconds faster.

We haven't run our battery life test yet, but Dell claims up to 17 hours of streaming battery life for the XPS 13. We’ll see if the XPS 13 can match the Neo’s 13.5-hour endurance in our lab tests. If Dell can match or exceed that, it would be another big reason to buy.

Dell XPS 13 (2026): Outlook

For what it offers, the Dell XPS 13 is an excellent budget Windows laptop. It’s extremely rare to find such a solid notebook at this price point. I’ll have a full review for you soon, but based on my experience so far, I’m very impressed with what Dell has delivered.

As for the MacBook Neo comparisons, they’re even more relevant now, given Apple’s price hikes, which have put the Neo at the same starting price as the XPS 13. If you’re married to a specific platform (macOS or Windows 11), the decision should be easy. However, if you just want the best value, you now have two strong options.

Stay tuned for my full XPS 13 review, along with a deeper face-off between Dell’s laptop and the MacBook Neo to help you decide which one is best for your needs.

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The best Kindles have been my primary way to read books for the better part of a decade. Thanks to Amazon’s e-reader, I’ve read more books in the past seven years than in the nearly four decades prior. Not only is the device easy to hold and read on, but its integration with the Kindle app and store gives me more books than I could read in a single lifetime.

Though I adore my Kindles, I don’t read comic books on them. Even after the introduction of the Kindle Colorsoft, which finally let me read comics in color, I still can’t bring myself to read comics full-time on Amazon's hardware. Why? Because, as a lifelong comic book fan, I get a much better experience on the best iPads. Here’s why.

Display size

Digital comic apps like Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite offer a guided view mode that zooms in on individual panels and text. This can be immersive, especially for those new to the medium. While guided mode works as advertised, I prefer seeing an entire comic page rather than breaking it up piece by piece.

On the base Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite, you almost have to use guided mode because of their small screens. For comics, I prefer reading on the iPad Pro. The 13-inch model’s screen is slightly larger than a physical comic book page. Not only do single pages look fantastic, but double-page spreads look incredible when you rotate the tablet to landscape orientation.

Another problem with using guided view or pinch-to-zoom on Kindles is the device’s low refresh rate. This causes the e-reader to lag and flash to clear previous image artifacts (ghosting). While this has improved with the latest Kindle models, the refresh rate is still sluggish compared to iPads, which handle panning and zooming instantly and smoothly.

Returning to screen size, the Kindle Scribe features a roomier 10.2-inch display. While that’s still smaller than the 11-inch iPad Pro and iPad Air models, it’s a good size for reading full comic book pages. There’s a specific reason I don’t use the Scribe for traditional color comics (which I’ll cover next), but for black-and-white manga, it’s legitimately great. However, since I don’t read much manga, that point is mostly moot for me.

When it comes to reading single pages and double-page spreads of a traditional American comic book, the iPad is simply the way to go.

Colorsoft is still too muted

The Kindle Colorsoft and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are arguably the best color e-readers out there right now. If you mainly read traditional novels, having full-color book covers, maps, and other design elements is a nice perk. Naturally, comics are in color on these devices, but there is one major drawback—the hues are decidedly muted.

In fairness, muted colors can sometimes be preferable. For instance, if you’re reading older comics printed before the late ‘90s, the e-reader screen delivers an experience closer to reading them on original newsprint, which is much duller than the glossy paper used today. If you’re a comic purist who doesn’t like how vibrant classic comics look on modern paper or on an iPad, you might actually prefer the Colorsoft's presentation.

With all that said, I want my comics, classic and modern, to look as bright and bold as possible, which is why I prefer the iPad's display. Again, the color Kindles do a decent job, but the presentation is far too washed out for my tastes.

Ecosystems and storage

iPads give you access to excellent dedicated comic reader apps like Panels and Chunky, along with major subscription platforms like Marvel Unlimited, DC Universe Infinite, and Shonen Jump. Conversely, Kindles mostly confine you to Amazon’s storefront, Comixology, and Kindle Unlimited. Sideloading your own files can also be a chore.

On that note, if you have a large library of digital comic files (.CBR, .CBZ, and high-res PDFs), you’re going to hit a storage cap much faster on a Kindle than on an iPad. Apple’s tablets offer storage tiers up to 1TB and can easily connect to cloud storage like Google Drive or iCloud to offload your libraries. Kindles top out at 64GB of storage on the Scribe and don’t natively support common comic book formats without converting the files first.

Bottom line

Don't get me wrong — Kindles still hold the crown for battery life and portability. Throwing a lightweight Paperwhite into a bag for a week-long trip without needing to pack a charger is fantastic, and it remains my go-to choice for novels.

But while Kindles are perfectly serviceable for most everyday reading, I get a much richer experience reading comics on the iPad. With a larger display for viewing full layouts, bolder colors, and seamless performance, I'll choose Apple's tablet for my graphic novels every single time.

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The iPhone 18 Pro Max is likely less than a couple of months from being unveiled, but we just got a big clue to its headline camera feature. The rumors of variable aperture coming to the iPhone have been circulating for a while, but as a result of the recent Tata Electronics leak, it seems like a lock.

The team at Notebookcheck found an internal diagnostic log buried inside the files from the Tata leak, and it points to calibration data for a variable aperture main camera. Before we go any further, Apple hasn't officially commented on any of this.

Still, the log contains information about a new Sony IMX905 camera sensor being used inside the iPhone 18 Pro Max that retains the same 1.22μm pixel size as the iPhone 17 Pro Max but builds in variable aperture.

As per Notebookcheck: "The log confirms variable aperture support on this sensor, backed by a calibration block that reads actuator data tied to the aperture mechanism from the sensor's non-volatile memory."

The log also confirms that all other elements of the iPhone 18 Pro Max's camera array will remain the same as the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That includes a Sony IMX973 sensor for the telephoto lens, a Sony IMX972 for the ultrawide, a Sony IMX591 for the LiDAR receiver, and a Sony IMX914 for the selfie camera.

Why should I care about variable aperture?

If you use your smartphone for photography — and let's be honest, most of us don't always have one of the best mirrorless cameras within reach — variable aperture is an upgrade you're going to appreciate.

In a nutshell, it means that instead of using software to simulate depth of field (DoF), mechanical blades inside the camera physically expand or contract to control how much light hits the sensor. Better yet, it should mean you can precisely control DoF to get the dynamic range you want. This means more balanced and better-exposed images coming straight out of the camera and less editing required.

Other premium smartphones have already embraced this technology, and after trying it, we're convinced the iPhone needs to adopt it as soon as possible. Thanks to this huge clue from probably one of the biggest leaks Apple has ever suffered, it seems like it's in the cards.

Apple's flagship camera is currently second best

While the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a fantastic phone for shooting (and editing) video, we don't rate its photography prowess over its chief rival, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

My colleague John shot 200 photos with each phone to see which came out on top and, in his words, the wider apertures for Samsung's main shooter alongside its 5x telephoto cameras gave it the edge. John shoots photography professionally and notes that while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is great for average folks, the extra utility from Samsung gives it the edge.

Here's an example of images from the two phones head-to-head showing how they handle dynamic range:

John noted that the Galaxy S26 Ultra was better at compensating for the exposure across the entire scene. The iPhone 17 Pro Max maintained a stronger contrast that made the overall image look darker. In this shoot-out, John handed the win to the Samsung, but if the iPhone 18 Pro Max is able to rely on a variable aperture main camera the result could look very different.

Is a better camera the feature upgrade you look for most in a new phone? Or are you more concerned with things like battery life and day-to-day performance? Let me know in the comments below.

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If you ever went diving into the various hidden features on offer in iOS 26, you may be aware of the handwriting option in the Messages app. Doing exactly what its name suggests, this feature lets you handwrite messages or draw pictures, and send them to contacts. Potentially very useful, even if it wasn't easy to find.

iOS 27 takes that idea and makes it a lot simpler, turning iMessage's handwriting mode into a dedicated applet within the Messages app. Or, in other words, Apple has tweaked the feature in such a way that it is easier to both find and use. Better still, a bunch of useful improvements were added in the process, making it more like the handwriting tools in Apple Notes.

Here's how to send handwritten messages and drawings over iMessage in iOS 27.

There you have it, an easy and quick way to send handwritten messages in the Apple Messages app, and without being forced to use landscape mode in the process.

It may not be an entirely new feature for iOS 27, but Apple has taken this extremely well-hidden feature and made it that little bit more accessible for iPhone users everywhere. So you might as well take advantage of it and flex your handwriting muscles once more.

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Apple will reportedly launch the first OLED iPad mini. That’s according to Bloomberg reporter and Apple tipster Mark Gurman, whose sources claim this updated iPad mini could arrive as early as this October. If true, this would be the biggest upgrade for the company’s smallest tablet. This has me both excited and worried.

The iPad mini was last updated in October 2024 with the iPad mini 7. Besides the A17 Pro chip, it retained the same design introduced in 2021.

This reported 8th-generation iPad mini model, currently code-named J510, would presumably have a faster chip along with the OLED panel. The report doesn’t specify if the tablet will receive other design upgrades, like thinner bezels.

Gurman’s report also discusses other upcoming iPad models. This includes an updated entry-level iPad, code-named J581, reportedly set for release early next year, according to Gurman’s sources. New iPad Air models, in both 11- and 13-inch variants, code-named J807 and J837, are allegedly dropping in Spring of 2027, along with new iPad Pro models around the same time.

Regarding the other iPads, Gurman doesn’t say whether or not the iPad Air line will get the same OLED upgrade as the iPad mini 8. If the iPad Air keeps the same Liquid Retina display, it would be the only iPad model without an OLED panel.

The iPad mini 7 currently starts at $599, which is $100 more than its original cost, thanks to Apple price hikes. Given the volatility of prices thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, it’s difficult to say how much the iPad mini 8 could cost. However, the introduction of an OLED panel would naturally make this tablet more expensive.

Outlook

Though Mark Gurman has a stellar track record for Apple scoops, it’s best to take this report with a grain of salt, as Apple has yet to officially announce the new iPad mini or new iPads in general. We’ll keep our ears to the ground on this one, so stay tuned for more as we hear it.

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If you thought Apple raising prices on Macs and iPads would be the end of it, you were sorely mistaken. The company has now raised AppleCare+ prices for various Macs and iPads, with prices rising by $0.50 cents a month, or $5 for those people on annual plans.

However, there is a caveat to this change. For starters, this will only affect new purchases, so those of you who are already paying for AppleCare+ won't suddenly be asked to pay more money. AppleCare One, which offers care for up to three devices, is similarly unaffected.

Bloomberg notes that the cost of covering a 13-inch MacBook Air has risen from $7.49 a month to $7.99 a month, while an annual plan is now $80 a year instead of the $75 you'd have paid last week. The price hikes are affecting all Mac, MacBook and iPad devices the same, but so far, all other Apple products seem to have escaped this particular form of inflation.

I wouldn't expect that to last long, though. As the cost of components goes up, so too will the cost of repairs. While there is no confirmation that AppleCare+ prices will go up for the likes of the iPhone or Apple Watch, odds are that it will happen in the near future. Especially if the iPhone 18 Pro prices increase this year, as they are widely expected to do.

In other words, if you have been putting off signing up for AppleCare+ and want to make sure your Apple devices are protected against damage, you might want to sign up as soon as possible. Although the damage is already done for Macs and iPads, so you folks have all the time in the world to mull over that decision.

Spreading out your iPad payments

AppleCare+ price hikes aren't the only financial changes happening at the App Store, either. Apple has just launched new 36-month carrier financing for cellular-capable iPads, which joins the existing 12-month interest-free financing option.

Like the 12-month finance option, this new 3-year payment plan is interest-free. However, it's provided by the carrier rather than Apple itself. However, you will need to sign up for a data plan, and so far, Apple is only offering this particular payment plan if you're connecting to AT&T or Verizon.

The carrier financing option is also available to existing customers "when connecting to a new line of service." You'll be taken through that process of setting up a new line before you check out, and obviously, this means you will be on the hook for monthly data payments. Though it doesn't make sense to buy a cellular iPad if you're not planning on getting a data plan too.

Considering how much the cost of some iPads has risen due to recent Apple price hikes, it makes sense for a longer interest-free payment plan to be available. For example, an 11-inch iPad Pro with cellular is now $1,399, which is $289 more than the original $1,110 price tag. It's a lot of money to spend on a tablet, but if you split the cost over three years, you end up paying just shy of $39 a month.

Of course, this means you are on the hook for paying that every single month for three years — regardless of how your life and circumstances might change. So there's a trade-off to those low monthly payments. But if you want an iPad Pro and plan on keeping it for the long term, it is a good way to avoid dropping several hundred dollars in one go.

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The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of the best smartwatches you can buy. And even though it’s less than a year old, Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors are plentiful; some even hint at a fall 2026 release.

I test a lot of wearables here at Tom’s Guide, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily my favorite rugged, full-featured smartwatch; I’d also argue that it’s the most advanced smartwatch on the market today. However, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

From physical upgrades to battery life improvements to new AI features, here are the five biggest Apple Watch Ultra 4 upgrades I’m hoping for.

1. A brighter display

Without an increase in screen brightness, Apple risks falling behind the competition, namely, Samsung, Google, and Garmin. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 maxes out at 3,000 nits, the same brightness as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. This is bright enough to see in direct sunlight, in most cases, but not nearly as bright as the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro LED, which goes up to 4,500 nits.

The Google Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, both significantly cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra 3, also boast 3,000-nit max brightness, and there’s a good shot that the Galaxy Watch 9 and/or Pixel Watch 5 will push that spec another 1,000 nits.

So, without an equal or greater bump in display output, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 risks feeling dated on arrival.

2. A thinner, lighter case

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 case is reasonably lightweight and thin, but I think Apple can go even slimmer. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 already wears way more comfortably than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, its Android-friendly equivalent, but Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 rumors hint that a slimmer case might be in the cards.

To keep the competitive advantage of a comfier design, I’d love to see the Apple Watch Ultra 3 boast a thickness under 10 mm (a reduction of ~2 mm). Given that the Apple Watch Series 11 is 9.7 mm, I have no doubt that the fine folks in Cupertino can get this done.

3. Three days of battery (or more)

Battery life is arguably Apple’s Achilles heel when it comes to wearables, and even though the Ultra 3 is Apple’s longest-lasting smartwatch, battery life is only good for about 42 hours per charge without power-saving options enabled.

By comparison, the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasts for closer to 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel Watch 4 in 45mm, though not a “rugged-style” smartwatch, is good for about two days per charge. Moreover, I suspect the successors to both models will see a battery life bump.

This is all to say, Apple has its work cut out when it comes to power consumption in the Watch Ultra 4.

4. An easier way to unlock the screen

Passcodes never seemed like a great way to unlock an Apple Watch, which is why two separate Apple Watch 12/Ultra 4 rumors have me excited. One suggests that Apple's next-gen smartwatches will get forward-facing cameras for Face ID. The other hints that an under-the-display fingerprint scanner could make an appearance.

Either of these methods would be a welcome change to punching in a code every time you want to use your Apple Watch, though I ultimately think that Face ID is the better option of the two.

5. Siri AI assistant

Last but not least, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 needs to debut with a ready-to-use, no-excuses version of Siri AI that’s on par with or better than Google’s implementation of Gemini AI as a virtual assistant on the latest Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch models.

This not only means a Siri AI capable of answering complex, context-specific questions with ease, but also one that can be unlocked with a simple gesture control, similar to the Pixel Watch 4’s ‘raise wrist” gesture.

What upgrades or new features do you want to see come to the Apple Watch Ultra 4? Let me know below.

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Apple is expected to launch iPadOS 27 this Fall, but you can try the upcoming operating system right now via the public beta. While the OS is still a work in progress, it has most of the essential new features coming to the best iPads.

Like iOS 27 and macOS 27, iPadOS 27 is focused on overall system refinements and deeper AI integration. That last bit is especially noteworthy, as there is now a dedicated Siri AI app that functions like a standard chatbot. Beyond answering questions, Siri AI can also take actions on your behalf since it’s integrated into the operating system and works with Apple’s applications.

Though iPadOS 27 isn’t a monumental update, features like the overhauled Siri AI, the Liquid Glass slider, and other quality-of-life improvements make it worthwhile. Here are my impressions of the upcoming iPad operating system and its new features.

iPadOS 27 hands-on preview: Compatible iPads

Here are all the iPads that support iPadOS 27.

• iPad Pro (M4 and later)
• iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (4th generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11‑inch (2nd generation and later)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2 and later)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2, M3, and M4)
• iPad Air 11-inch (4th generation and later)
• iPad (A16)
• iPad (9th generation and later)
• iPad mini (A17 Pro)
• iPad mini (6th generation)

iPadOS 27 hands-on preview: New features

Siri AI

Apple Intelligence is finally ready for prime time on the company’s devices. Thanks to the new Siri AI app, you can now interact with Apple’s virtual assistant the same way you would with a chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Apple Intelligence runs on both servers and your device to offer better image understanding and more.

There is now a dedicated Siri AI app, which looks and functions like a regular chatbot app. In this window, you can ask Siri questions or have it perform tasks for you. For example, I used Siri to send a message to one of my iMessage group chats, and it did so after my approval. Sure, I could have just done this directly in the group chat, but it’s a good demonstration of what the new Siri can do.

Siri AI also understands what it sees on your screen. When I had the Tom’s Guide homepage open on Google Chrome, it correctly detailed what was on the screen, including all the articles. It couldn’t open the articles or read them out loud (despite saying it could), but given that I’m testing a beta version, I’ll give it an A for effort, even if it failed to complete the task.

Siri is most useful when you’re using Apple’s own apps and programs. It can create events on your calendar, set reminders, play music, and more. For example, when you’re looking at a schedule, you’ll see an “add to calendar” button pop up. When you right-click certain folders, files, or apps, you’ll see an “Ask Siri” option at the bottom. Selecting this will open a window where you can start texting or talking with Siri.

Though Siri can’t yet interact with most third-party applications (such as those from Google), it’s a huge improvement over the old Siri.

Liquid Glass improvements

Liquid Glass hasn’t gone anywhere, as Apple is leaning more into the UI with its latest operating system updates. However, Apple is now giving you greater control over how it looks thanks to a new slider that adjusts the opacity. You can’t eliminate the Liquid Glass look, but you can severely minimize it.

There are other improvements, such as how complex background visuals now appear more diffuse so that text stands out more. You’ll also notice that the edges of icons are more pronounced to help further separate them from the background. The uniform corner radius of all app windows also helps them stand out more.

Even if Liquid Glass hasn’t gone anywhere, even detractors should find the updates tolerable since they do greatly improve overall readability and visibility. The Liquid Glass slider is a nice touch.

I've never had a problem with Liquid Glass because I think it’s an interesting visual effect. That said, I’m glad that folks can now fine-tune it to their liking. The slider is especially neat because it’s easy to use and makes it clear how much of a difference there is when you go from one extreme to the other.

Child safety features

If you’re a parent, you’ll be happy to know that Apple is expanding its parental control features with iPadOS 27. This way, you can let the kiddo use Apple’s tablet without worrying too much about the kind of content they’re watching and for how long they’re using the slate.

Some of these updates include a redesigned and more intuitive Screen Time Dashboard that offers one-tap controls and expanded safeguards. There is also Time Allowances for app categories, Ask to Browsw website approval, Communication Safety that blurs gore or violence, and one-tap access management. You can tailor these features to suit your child.

I don’t have kids but I did find the child safety features simple enough to use and customize. Given how much kids love iPads, it’s smart for Apple to continue making adjustments to these safety features.

iPadOS 27 hands-on preview: Other features

Spatial Reframing: As the name suggests, you can now reframe a photo after it’s been taken thanks to this feature. You can also expand your shots with the Extend Tool and remove objects with the Clean Up tool.

Upgraded Image Playground: Image Playground can now generate higher quality images than before. You can also modify and transform existing images by describing what you want.

Siri in Notes: Siri AI can assist with your handwritten or typed notes in the Notes app by (for example) organizing bullet points into a formatted agenda or turning handwritten lectures into a detailed study guide.

Safari updates: In Safari, tabs can now be automatically grouped by topic to make related pages easier to find. With Safari Notify Me, you can receive an alert if there’s a price change or a restock for an item you’ve been eyeing.

Describe Shortcuts: Instead of manually building complex workflows, you can now describe what you need, and Shortcuts connects actions across multiple apps to make it happen. This is useful if you want to set specific routines, such as launching a specific app when you connect a peripheral.

iPadOS 27 hands-on preview: Outlook

iPadOS 27 won’t set the world on fire with revolutionary new features, but the upgraded Siri AI and deeper Apple Intelligence integrations help make iPads that support the update more useful. This is especially true if you frequently use Apple’s own apps.

Keeping in mind that iPadOS 27 is still a work in progress, I think it’s a smart update that finally sees Apple’s AI ambitions bear fruit. Things could change between now and when the expected Fall launch, but right now, Apple has delivered on its promises for a more helpful and intuitive iPad experience.

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You don’t have to wait to try iPadOS 27, as you can try it out now via the public beta. Even if this version of the operating system isn’t groundbreaking, its emphasis on AI should make for a more personal and customized experience.

As with iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate, the main attraction is the reinvented Siri, which finally lives up to its potential. Siri AI, as it’s now called, is context-aware and understands what’s on your screen. Because it’s built into the OS, it can directly control and manage apps. There are also new child safety features, improved readability for Liquid Glass, new photo-editing tools, and more.

While public betas are generally safer than developer betas, it’s best to proceed with caution, as there may be bugs that could harm your iPad. If you’re not bothered by that (I’ve never had issues in all my years of running these Apple betas), then here’s how to download the iPadOS 27 public beta.

How to download the iPadOS 27 public beta

Before you install the beta, make sure to back up your iPad, just in case anything goes wrong and you need to return to iPadOS 26.

You’ll then need to enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program. You may already be enrolled from prior years, but if not, visit the sign-up page to get the ball rolling. You’ll need to log in with your name and address, then set your entity type as an individual. When the payment screen appears, back out, and you’ll be on the free developer tier.

Here is the full list of iPads that are compatible with iPadOS 27:

• iPad Pro (M4 and later)
• iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (4th generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11‑inch (2nd generation and later)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2 and later)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2, M3, and M4)
• iPad Air 11-inch (4th generation and later)
• iPad (A16)
• iPad (9th generation and later)
• iPad mini (A17 Pro)
• iPad mini (6th generation)

And that's how you download the iPadOS 27 public beta! You should be safe using the beta, but if you don’t want to risk it, you can always wait for the full release this Fall.

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The macOS Golden Gate public beta is now live, giving you a chance to check out all the new features coming to the best MacBooks.

Expected to launch this Fall, macOS Golden Gate primarily focuses on updating Apple Intelligence and Siri, with the latter now officially called Siri AI. You don’t get many new features, but improvements to Liquid Glass’s readability, easier customization, and smoother performance make for an overall better experience.

While Apple’s public betas are generally more stable than the developer builds, it might still be buggy and could cause issues for your Mac. I’ve never experienced serious issues using any of these betas over the years, but it’s worth being cautious. With that said, here’s how to download the macOS Golden Gate public beta.

How to download the macOS Golden Gate developer beta

Downloading the macOS Golden Gate public beta is pretty simple. First, enroll your Apple ID in Apple's Beta Program and make sure your Mac is compatible. Here's the full list of Macs that can install and run macOS Golden Gate:

• MacBook Neo (2026)
• MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• iMac with Apple silicon (2021 and later)
• Mac mini with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• Mac Studio with Apple silicon (2022 and later)
• Mac Pro with Apple silicon (2023 and later)

That’s all that’s required to download the macOS Golden Gate public beta. Your Mac will restart once the download finishes. After that, you can start trying out all the new features. Depending on your connection speed, the download might take a few minutes, so be patient.

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Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch Ultra series, the uniquely named Galaxy Watch Ultra, debuted almost two years ago exactly, and if recent Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 rumors prove to be true, we should get our first look at its successor in just a few weeks; Samsung has a Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for July 22nd.

The original Galaxy Watch Ultra remains one of the best smartwatches for Android users in 2026. It’s the leader of the pack in display size, battery life, and durability, but there is room for improvement.

I’ve tested both the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 3 extensively, including in a head-to-head fitness-tracking showdown. OS and holistic tech aside, I prefer the design of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to the Galaxy Watch Ultra for several key reasons.

With that in mind, here are three improvements that would make the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 more competitive against — and even beat — the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

1. Slim down the case size

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is one chunky smartwatch. While the specs would lead you to believe it’s essentially the same thickness as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (~12 mm), that official measurement isn’t telling the whole story.

Sure, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is about 12 mm thick at the very edge of the case; I just measured it using a caliper. However, at the center of the case, where the sensor array protrudes, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is closer to 16 mm thick. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, meanwhile, measures a little over 14 mm thick at the center of the case.

Both watches weigh about the same, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra wears significantly larger on my 6.5-inch wrist. This is not only due to the extra ~2 mm of thickness but also to its square case shape, which makes it roughly 3 mm wider than the Ultra 3. That said, the Apple is a little taller.

Ultimately, a slimmer, narrower case design would go a long way toward convincing me to consider the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 over the Apple Watch Ultra 3; shave off a little weight, and I’m even more sold.

2. Bump up battery life to three days or more

In full smartwatch mode (i.e., with no battery-saving options enabled), the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasts roughly two days per charge in our testing. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, on the other hand, lasts about 42 hours per charge, on average, just under the two-day mark.

For the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, Samsung would be wise to double down on its battery life advantage and push the advertised rating to three days or more per charge. After all, Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors also hint at a potential battery life bump, though we don't know for certain if such a model will debut this fall or not.

3. Improve water resistance for diving

Whether you’re a hardcore watersport enthusiast or not, the fact that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is rated for scuba diving, with all sorts of tools to boot, definitely gives users some unique bragging rights.

Sadly, despite having the same 100-meter water-resistance rating, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is explicitly not designed for extended underwater use. This means deep-sea diving and even snorkeling are out of the question.

It also means that high-impact water sports, like water skiing or riding jet skis, are also ill-advised. Bummer!

There is, of course, only one way to correct course: Samsung needs the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 to be fully dive-ready, water-resistance-wise, while also including a set of comprehensive dive-friendly tools equal to or better than Apple's.

What are your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2? Is there one feature or upgrade in particular you’re hoping for the most? Let me know in the poll or comments below.

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It’s official — the macOS 27 Golden Gate public beta has just launched, and with it we’re getting a slew of new features! Not that you’d know, because back at WWDC, Apple couldn’t stop talking about the new Siri AI that’s deeply integrated into everything here.

So while I’ll leave the hands-on impressions of the OS and its big features to my boy Tony, I want to tell you about the lesser known additions that you should definitely be trying out first. Because this new version is about a lot more than just AI.

Refining Liquid Glass - improving the UI

Let’s be real. Liquid Glass had a rough start. Personally, I thought it was kind of cool, but I can totally understand how it impacted readability and consistency of design across the OS. Apple’s addressed this with some small but impactful changes that bring it all together nicely.

First, there’s now a Liquid Glass slider to adjust how see-through the glassy elements are — great for improving legibility. Then there’s uniformity across macOS toolbars for more logical use, and the rounded corners of all the app windows match up now.

Like I said, it’s all small tweaks. But put them all together (as well as smoother animations for Mission Control and Spaces), and the end result is a nicer-feeling UI to get around.

Faster AirDrop

There’s been general performance upgrades across the board, as it seems Apple has gone all “Snow Leopard” on this version by looking under the hood and tweaking the efficiency of tasks.

But the real feature here is that AirDrop is going to get a turboboost. How much faster? I don’t know — but by optimizing the underlying network protocols, wireless file transfers are speedier. For someone who has a Final Cut Pro workload between my iPhone and MacBook Pro, this is huge for high capacity files.

Beyond this, Apple says you can look forward to faster app opens and JavaScript improvements to make Safari browsing a whole lot smoother. Speaking of Safari…

Safari’s big upgrade

Safari is catching up with the likes of Chrome and Opera with some AI-powered features like automatic tab organization, but Apple’s browser facelift goes deeper than that.

First up is probably a significant one for those who has gig tickets to buy or want to wait for a price drop. With Notify Me, you can set some conditions to get a notification whenever the content on a webpage changes.

Second, with a little help from Apple Intelligence, you can use natural language to describe a browser extension, and Safari will build it. So whether it’s a Recipe Keeper like in Apple’s example or maybe a Tom’s Guide story feed, you’re not limited to the developer range of extensions.

Oh, and shout-out to one of the underrated game changers here — swipe down to refresh. Just like in iOS, you can scroll up on a webpage to trigger a page refresh, and bringing that intuitive piece of UI design to the desktop experience feels so natural in a “why didn’t they think of that before” kind of way.

Drawing in Messages, Notes and Freeform

On iPhone and iPad, you can draw directly into Notes and Freeform, and this feature is now (finally) coming to Mac too. Using the touchpad as a canvas, you can sketch out your mini masterpiece — plus this drawing app is also being added directly into iMessage too for a huge upgrade over the handwriting feature you used to get.

Now, this is definitely an understated feature that you may only use once or twice (depending on what your use cases are of course), but I see this as something different. Apple has snuck in a couple of things that I think may be setting the stage for some new devices coming in.

Having expanded drawing capabilities in your OS? To me, that feels like something more purpose-built for a touchscreen device…maybe the MacBook Ultra?

iPhone mirroring that teases a foldable

And this is the other feature that I believe is teasing a new device. iPhone mirroring has been one of the biggest features since its debut for me — giving me rapid access to my phone’s apps without needing to break my focus on my MacBook screen to pull out another device (and inevitably go down a TikTok wormhole).

With Golden Gate, you can watch DRM-protected video on your big screen now (Netflix content for example), and you can get into your iPhone’s Control Center.

But biggest of all, you can resize the app’s screen to be bigger and see more content on the screen.

Now again, this seems to be a weird addition. Why put that demand for responsive app design in iPhone mirroring? Well, you may have heard about this new foldable iPhone Ultra coming up…this seems too convenient to me.

Outlook

All-in-all, this isn’t necessarily the most feature-packed macOS update, but Golden Gate does sharpen some things up while also giving us what I feel are some future hardware teases.

These alongside a complete rebuild in the way search works across Spotlight, Photos and Mail, the tweaks here will be felt throughout by both casual and pro users alike.

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After Apple’s dramatic showing at WWDC 2026 last month, I’ve been getting cozy with all the new features thanks to the iOS 27 developer beta. Unless you’ve signed up for a developer account, the vast majority of people need to wait for the public release.

Thankfully, the wait is over. The iOS 27 public beta has launched, and supported iPhones can finally experience the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer with its phone software. What’s fascinating is that my colleagues and I felt iOS 26 left users feeling like Apple was trailing behind in the AI wars — but iOS 27 is an absolute redemption arc.

That’s because it’s taking a big leap, complementing the foundational features of the platform with AI features and tools that don’t just make life easier; they fundamentally change how you interact with your iPhone on a daily basis. I’ll tell you how I feel about these new changes and additions with my iOS 27 public beta hands-on.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Supported iPhones

Before you take a stab at trying some of the best iOS 27 features, you’ll obviously need an iPhone that can support it. Apple has optimized the software structure so well that it runs smoothly even on older hardware, which is why official compatibility extends as far back as the iPhone 11.

However, there’s a small caveat regarding which models gain support for the most advanced Apple Intelligence features and Siri AI. Because these tools require significantly more processing power, only the last few generations of hardware will get access to them. Here is the full list of iPhones that support iOS 27, with the models in bold indicating they’ll support the most advanced AI features:

• iPhone 17
• iPhne 17e
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (both 2020 and 2022 models)

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: a much smarter, more reliable assistant

I’ve been running the iOS 27 developer 3 beta for a while now, and nothing continues to stand out more than Siri AI. Apple’s assistant finally gets its most substantial upgrade since its inception, acquiring new on-screen contextual awareness that makes this assistant feel far more capable than before. What’s really notable is the proactive, dynamic approach that Siri AI takes when you're using your phone.

For example, if you’re reading an email or texting back and forth in Messages, Siri AI will scan the screen and provide a contextual suggestion — like offering a one-tap option to create a Calendar invite based on a discussed time and place.

When it comes to productivity, I love using Siri AI to handle trivial, repetitive tasks. In the past, it was a total time suck to manually copy and paste text or pull hashtags from an Instagram post, but now I can simply tell Siri AI to grab them for me. It knows exactly what I’m looking at on screen and understands the intent behind my request, saving me from tedious tapping and typing.

Additionally, a dedicated Siri app now aggregates all of your previous requests in one place. It organizes your history much like the Gemini app, letting you easily search through past queries and jump right back in to follow up on them.

But as much as Siri AI makes life easier, it still has some catching up to do. Most of its deepest functionality is currently locked down to Apple's native apps. It still lacks the robust third-party app integration that would allow it to execute complex, multi-step real-world tasks — like letting me place an order for Dunkin' Donuts via the DoorDash app.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Speed Boost

On the surface, Liquid Glass still makes iOS 27 look visually appealing with its sense of depth, transparency, and layered layout. While I’m happy to see that Apple is letting users tune the intensity of the transparency effects, I’m far more impressed by how much more responsive iOS 27 feels.

You can’t fully appreciate the fluidity of iOS 27 until you see it side-by-side with iOS 26. Running two iPhone 17 models side-by-side — one with the iOS 27 beta and the other with iOS 26 — immediately reveals how much smoother the system animations are and how much faster apps launch. As you can see from the data comparison chart above, the speed improvements when launching apps from the home screen are undeniable.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Reframe and Photo Clean Up

I’m big on generative AI and how its features can enhance my photos. Fortunately, iOS 27 brings some much-needed Apple Intelligence upgrades to the table, and I for one am thoroughly impressed by what they can do.

The standout feature you need to know about is Reframe. I’ve used it countless times already to shift the perspective of photos I've captured — and they don’t even need to have been shot on an iPhone. For instance, I used it to adjust the angle of a BMW 7 Series photo to show more of its side profile than the original shot did. Honestly, it’s unlike any other AI photo tool I’ve come across on a smartphone.

Then there is the vastly improved Photo Clean Up tool. While it was fine for basic object removal when it first launched, it was nowhere near as capable as Google's or Samsung's equivalents. This update changes that by better analyzing the scene to deliver far more realistic, practical results. Just take a look at the photo of Panos Panay above because I was able to easily erase the background crowd, relying on Apple Intelligence to seamlessly fill in the rest of his jacket that was covered up.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Custom passes

This one is long overdue. I’ve spent years relying on third-party apps just to keep track of my cards, so if you carry plastic loyalty tags on your keychain or stuff your gym membership into your wallet, you’ll be just as ecstatic as I am about this change. With iOS 27, you can finally create your own custom passes directly in the Wallet app.

The software now allows you to digitize those physical cards so you can simply show them on your iPhone. In the past, you were out of luck unless a company explicitly built native Apple Wallet support into their own app. iOS 27 completely squashes that requirement, letting you scan and digitize even the most obscure local passes.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Finally, a helpful co-pilot

If you're like me, you probably rarely interacted with Siri while driving in the past because it could only handle basic commands — and nothing complex like jotting down structured notes. Now that Siri AI is accessible through CarPlay, it completely transforms the hands-free driving experience. First and foremost, Siri is finally way more conversational, shedding its robotic roots for natural inflections and tonal shifts that make it sound genuinely human.

However, the real magic is how Siri AI now maintains context. For instance, when I dictated some initial thoughts about a car I was testing, I was able to summon Siri a few minutes later and say, "Go back to that note and add this detail." It was smart enough to locate the exact note, update it, and even organize the text into a clean layout with a title and a bulleted list that was ready to view on my iPhone once I parked.

While it still needs deeper real-world search capabilities — like the ability to pull live, real-time traffic conditions on the fly — this is still a massive leap forward and way more helpful than previous incarnations of CarPlay.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Safari, Wallet, and Shortcuts

There are far more iOS 27 features to go through, but here are a few of the ones I’ve leaned on heavily during my time with the beta. First, Safari now uses on-device intelligence to automatically organize tabs, instantly grouping similar open pages into neat, thematic folders. It completely removes the headache of hunting down a stray article you opened days ago.

Another helpful feature I’ve come to appreciate is the new bill-splitting function in the Wallet app. I can snap a photo of a receipt directly inside Wallet—or pull up one I’ve taken previously in the Photos app—and the software dynamically parses the text. From there, I can easily assign specific items to different people or simply split the total right down the middle.

Finally, I rarely had the desire to use the Shortcuts app in the past because creating personalized automations felt incredibly overwhelming. Luckily, iOS 27 removes that complication with a big assist from Apple Intelligence. Now, I can just type what I want to achieve in plain English, and the system automatically builds the correct architecture for me. It transforms Shortcuts from a niche tool for power users into an accessible, everyday time-saver.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Outlook

The iOS 27 public beta proves that Apple is no longer just playing catch-up when it comes to AI — it's actively shaping it with features that transform how I use my iPhone daily. While the new Apple Intelligence tools and Siri AI are leading the charge, the under-the-hood performance optimizations and a highly customizable Liquid Glass interface make iOS 27 stand out as one of the most comprehensive and satisfying iPhone updates in years.

Time will only make this software better. With the final release slated for later this fall, iOS 27 is shaping up to be an elevated experience that will save you more time than ever before.

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You don’t have to wait any longer to experience the latest iPhone software because the iOS 27 public beta is finally available. Arriving a little over a month after its reveal at WWDC 2026, this release brings the new Siri and a host of fresh Apple Intelligence features into the fold.

Aside from a sleek visual makeover, iOS 27 introduces a slew of AI tools that prove Apple is serious about giving consumers features that save them time. From the powerful new capabilities of Siri AI to unique, generative AI-powered tools like Reframe, the iOS 27 public beta is set to breathe new life into your device.

Best of all, Apple has extended support for iOS 27 as far back as the iPhone 11 — though only the latest-generation models will have access to Siri AI and the most demanding Apple Intelligence features. If you’re holding onto a supported iPhone, here is how to download the iOS 27 public beta.

Once it's installed, you can dive right into the most exciting new iOS 27 features. Keep in mind that you'll likely need to sign up for a waitlist to get early access to Siri AI, as it's still technically in beta. Once you're approved, you’ll be able to try out all of its new capabilities, provided you're using a supported iPhone model.

Beyond that, you can immediately tap into other excellent iOS 27 features that don't require a waitlist. These include the ability to create custom digital passes in the Wallet app, the vastly improved Photo Clean Up tool, and much more.

More from Tom's Guide

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The iOS 27 developer beta has been available for the past month, though it requires an Apple developer account to actually install. A public beta was promised, though Apple never confirmed the exact date it would arrive — only saying it would be some time in July. Well the good news for all you non-developers is that the iOS 27 public beta has just landed.

While some have criticized iOS 27 for being a fairly small update, more focused on backend performance, I don't really agree. There's quite a lot to digest in this update, and the more I use the iOS 27 beta, the more hidden features seem to appear. The problem is figuring out where you should start.

So, for those of you that are just getting ready to experience the iOS 27 beta for the first time, here are 9 of the best features you should try first.

Siri AI

I'll be totally honest, this whole list could easily have just been a list of all the new things Siri could do. The upgraded Apple AI is easily the standout feature of iOS 27 beta, and transforms what used to be a fairly mediocre voice assistant into a fully-fledged AI chatbot.

Siri AI is contextually aware, can hunt down details in various supported apps, understands what's happening on your screen, and has the ability to learn about you based on your historical interactions with the AI — assuming you opted in to store a lengthy interaction history. The AI also features multimodal capabilities, with the ability to understand text, audio, videos and images at the same time.

There's a lot to go through, and it makes sense to start getting to grips with Siri AI from day one.

The Liquid Glass Slider

Liquid Glass has been a controversial design change since it debuted in iOS 26, but it's sticking around for iOS 27 — but not without a few changes. Apple has spent a great deal of effort tweaking the Liquid Glass design to improve readability, and make sure the transparency effects don't cause you to develop a splitting headache.

There's also a new slider to customize the effect, and choose just how much of the transparent effect you actually want. That's in contrast to the binary options that were available in iOS 26, and only gave you the option to choose between full and zero transparency. We like choice here at Tom's Guide, and whether you love or hate Liquid Glass, I'm sure we can all agree that having the ability to choose can only be a good thing.

Reframe

AI photo editing has been one of my favorite uses of the technology, but iOS 27 beta's Reframe is unlike anything we've seen before. The idea behind this is simple, you take one of your existing photos (even one that wasn't shot on an iPhone) and Apple Intelligence will let you shift the perspective and give you a whole new look.

This is the perfect tool for more stress-free photography, because it means you don't need to worry about getting the perfect angle the first time around. And should you ever change your mind, and wish you had shot the photo from a slightly different perspective, iOS 27 can make it happen. It feels like magic, but it's really just AI smarts.

New parental controls

Kids love technology, but the big bad world of the internet can be rather dangerous if you're not too careful. Parental control apps do exist, including some on iOS itself, but with iOS 27, Apple has upped the ante by offering a bunch of helpful new features to keep your kids' activity limited to stuff you approve of.

First up is the ability to create dedicated child accounts, which give parents far better control over what sort of apps and features their kids can or can't use on their Apple devices. This also includes browser controls, to blacklist or white list certain websites, and expansion of Apple's "Questionable content" filters that warn kids if they're sending or receiving content with nudity, gore or violence.

Of course the new feature also includes an expansion of the ScreenTime feature, which lets parents see and manage what their kids are actually doing — while also setting strict time limits on different categories such as games and social media. Of course, kids will be able to send requests to parent accounts asking for permission to use certain apps or sites, which you as a parent can approve or deny.

Shortcuts made easy

Shortcuts are an invaluable tool in iOS 27, but they aren't exactly beginner-friendly. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be quite an intimidating experience getting one together. Thankfully iOS 27 beta has taken all the difficulty out of it, thanks to integration with Apple Intelligence.

Once the beta is installed, all you'll see to do is tell the shortcuts app what you'd like the end result to be. The Shortcuts app will then generate that shortcut for you in the space of a few seconds, and let you get back to focussing on other things. The manual mode is still available for those that want it, but the act of getting started with Shortcuts is now significantly easier.

Siri Mode

Visual Intelligence has changed, and probably for the better, with iOS 27. Rather than being a standalone feature that utilizes the cameras, Apple has baked its AI vision into the official camera app. It's also changed the name, ditching Visual Intelligence and tying it into the new upgrades to Siri AI.

Siri Mode isn't all that different from Visual Intelligence, though it does benefit from the improvements Apple has afforded to Siri with this particular upgrade. Essentially you point your camera at things, and Siri Mode will help you understand everything that can be seen. Be it text that needs translating, QR codes or if you just want to find out more about a particular object in view.

Plus it's now a lot easier to find, and the name is totally self explanatory. That makes it possible to stumble upon Siri Mode fairly easily, and figure out exactly what it's supposed to do right away.

Apple Wallet passes

Apple Wallet got a sizable update in iOS 27, but the feature that's the most exciting is the fact that you can now create your own custom passes within your wallet. The goal of this feature is to let you create virtual versions of tickets, membership cards and anything else that doesn't already have official Apple Wallet support.

This gives you more opportunity to ditch physical items that may get damaged or lost, and just take up space in your bag. No more carrying about paper tickets for your day trips, no more ratty gym membership card attached to your keys — safely store everything on your phone.

AirPods' custom EQ

If you're the proud owner of AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4, you'll find that the AirPods app now features a custom EQ feature in iOS 27. This gives you the option to personalize your music to better suit your own listening tastes, altering the likes of bass, midrange and treble. It's something a lot of other headphones offer, and it's great to see it finally arrive for Apple's latest earbuds.

The AirPods app also features a new slider that lets you adjust the level of Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency. At one end of the slider is full ANC, while the other has full Transparency. So by adjusting the scale you don't have to choose between those two extremes and pick a happy medium that suits you best.

Safari extensions

Mobile browsers typically don't get anything like the same level of extension support as they do on desktop. But Apple has made an effort to add extension support for Safari in iOS over the years, and iOS 27 takes it to a whole new level. In short, you gain the ability to tell your phone what extension you like, and it will create it using artificial intelligence.

Simply enter your prompt, and the AI will generate that extension for you to try. If you like it enough, you can save to Safari to use later. Just be aware, it doesn't seem to be able to do anything particularly complex, nor can it create extensions that already exist in the App Store — like ad blockers

More from Tom's Guide

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The public beta for macOS 27, also known as macOS Golden Gate, is here! While this update isn’t as monumental as macOS Sequoia, it delivers a slew of AI features and smoother overall performance, making the best MacBooks more personal and streamlined.

I’ve had the developer beta of macOS Golden Gate installed for a month, with the latest version close to what the public beta is offering. While the beta is still very much a work in progress, I’ve had a smooth time using it and testing out its new features.

If you’re signed into the (free) Apple beta software program, you can try the public beta of macOS Golden Gate right now. Here are my thoughts on the beta and the key features worth checking out.

macOS Golden Gate public beta hands-on: Supported Macs

The Intel era is over, as macOS Golden Gate doesn’t run on those older machines. Here is a complete list of Macs that support Golden Gate.

• MacBook Neo (2026)
• MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• iMac with Apple silicon (2021 and later)
• Mac mini with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• Mac Studio with Apple silicon (2022 and later)
• Mac Pro with Apple silicon (2023 and later)

macOS Golden Gate public beta hands-on: Features

Most of macOS Golden Gate’s new features center around updated versions of Siri and Apple Intelligence. These are the ones that have stood out the most during my testing.

Siri AI

There is now a dedicated Siri AI app for macOS Golden Gate that functions similarly to chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. This app is also available on iPadOS 27 and iOS 27, and is arguably the biggest new feature for the Apple devices that support it.

You can access the Siri AI app either by clicking it in the Dock or in the Menu bar. You can also bring it up by pulling up Spotlight. Doing this brings up a dedicated chat window where you can ask Siri AI questions or just talk to it about whatever’s on your mind. Again, this functions exactly like the chatbots you’re already familiar with.

And since Siri AI is now baked into the operating system, it can do more than just chat. For example, if you’re looking at a schedule, you’ll see an “add to calendar” button appear. I’ve even had this happen when I suggest a date/time to meet with friends. When you right-click on folders, files, or apps, you’ll often see an “Ask Siri” option at the very top, where you can begin asking questions about whatever you’re highlighting.

You can even create Shortcuts by typing or speaking what you want instead of manually building complications. While I wouldn’t call this vibe coding, it can feel that way since you’re using natural language.

For those in the Apple ecosystem, Siri AI can be more useful than other chatbots because it’s integrated into the system. However, third-party integrations are still a work in progress, so Siri AI’s usability for you might be limited if you use Google apps like Gmail, since Siri AI doesn’t work with them (yet).

Liquid Glass slider

If you’re not a fan of the Liquid Glass UI, you’ll be happy to know there’s now a slider to adjust its opacity. It lets you dial the effect up or down to your liking, and I’m surprised it took this long to implement it this way.

Beyond the slider, you’ll notice that more complex background visuals appear more diffused, which improves text readability (which was a big issue for some). The edges of icons are also more pronounced, so they stand out more from the background. All app windows now have a uniform corner radius to help them pop out as well.

I've never had a problem with Liquid Glass because I think it’s an interesting visual effect. That said, I’m glad that folks can now fine-tune it to their liking. The slider is especially neat because it’s easy to use and makes it clear how much of a difference there is when you go from one extreme to the other.

Spatial Reframing

Spatial Reframing isn’t exclusive to macOS Golden Gate, but since the Reframe tool stole the show at WWDC, it’s a feature worth spotlighting if you take a lot of photos.

As its name suggests, Reframe lets you reframe existing photos and adjust the perspective to your liking. This can be especially handy if you need to take photos in a hurry, as you can come back to them later to fix them.

After you select Reframe in the new Tools option in Photos’ editing mode, Apple Intelligence scans the photo you’ve selected. After that, you can pull your finger across the touchpad to change the perspective. Sliders on the side also give you more precise control over the angle, orientation, or size. When you’re done, the AI shifts things around to fill in any blanks.

This isn’t a feature I use often since I like photos in their original form, even if they’re not perfect. That said, I can’t knock the results, as Reframe does an excellent job of living up to its name. And to be fair, the changes made don’t radically alter the image — you just get a better version of what you’ve already snapped.

macOS Golden Gate public beta hands-on: Outlook

Apple Intelligence didn’t live up to the hype after it was first announced, but it’s now living up to its potential on Macs and the other Apple devices it can run on. If you’re a big AI user already, then macOS Golden Gate could arguably be a significant update. I imagine Siri AI will only improve between now and the OS’ expected fall launch.

Other features such as the more customizable Liquid Glass UI and Spatial Reframing might not be monumental game-changers, but they’re nice additions regardless. Apple also said there’s improved performance on devices using the upcoming operating systems, but during my time with macOS Golden Gate, I haven’t seen any noticeable improvements or hiccups on that front.

Apple’s new operating systems are still being worked on, so things could change before the official launch. I’ll have a full review for you then, but based on my experience with macOS Golden Gate, I’ll say that the new features are a step in the right direction.

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The Apple Car could well be one of Apple's biggest unactualized projects, since the company reportedly spent a decade and $10 billion on developing an autonomous vehicle — only to abandon it in 2024 after realizing that it just wasn't possible. Now it's been suggested that all that work didn't go to waste. In fact, we might have the Apple Car to thank for the way Apple handles its myriad of artificial intelligence features.

This report comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who claims that Apple's lofty goal of developing a Level 5 autonomous car actually pushed the company to kickstart its first large-scale push into AI. Obviously, the company needed hardware to handle all the immense AI processing in real time, and while that never actually happened, the work still laid the groundwork for other things.

As Gurman says, the most notable example is the Neural Engine, which is the part of Apple's chips that handles all the on-device AI. This tech launched earlier than many realized too, debuting on 2017's iPhone X as part of the A11 Bionic chipset. The Neural Engine is a series of AI accelerators, designed to facilitate real-time AI features such as Face ID, augmented reality and the Apple Intelligence suite.

The idea behind Apple's Engine, rather than a traditional Neural Processing Unit, is that it's supposed to offer high efficiency, with minimal battery consumption, while also ensuring extra privacy by processing on your device.

The Neural Engine has been a part of every M-series chip, starting with the original Apple M1 in 2020, which allowed the Mac to be a powerhouse for local AI processing. The work is also reported to have influenced the Ultra Mac chips, and the custom hardware used to power Apple Intelligence's cloud servers.

Apple Car paved the way for Apple's new AI strategy

We all know that Apple has struggled to capitalize on the AI boom, in part thanks to its issues upgrading the old Siri virtual assistant into the newly-unveiled Siri AI. But it sounds like Apple would be much further behind had it not been for the lengthy development on the Apple Car.

According to Gurman's report, the push into AI is changing Apple's existing plans for chips. We've already discussed how the company may be scrapping the M6 Pro and Max chips, in favor of jumping straight from the M6 to the M7. It sounds as though AI is the cause of this decision.

It's claimed that the M7 family will include major upgrades to neural processing, which will be particularly apparent in the M7 Ultra. Sources speaking to Gurman claim that the Ultra chip will "dramatically improve AI performance, bringing it closer to the class of dedicated AI accelerators such as Nvidia's Blackwell.

M7 Ultra may also help Apple overhaul its AI server strategy, as a successor to the upcoming M5 Ultra-powered servers. M7 Ultra will apparently be able to support 1.5TB of memory, double that of the M5 Ultra.

That may sound excessive for personal use, but it would likely prove invaluable for server-side AI processing. Assuming, of course, that anyone can actually procure enough RAM to run multiple M7 Ultra servers given everything that's going on with RAMageddon.

Gurman says this shows AI has become the thing Apple's chips are built around, rather than just another feature that they support. All of which likely wouldn't have happened had it not been for the seemingly botched development on the Apple Car.

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Apple is cutting checks to millions of iPhone owners. If you bought an iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 Pro between June 2024 and March 2025, you likely qualify for a settlement payout between $25 and $95 per device.

This settlement comes from a class action lawsuit over Apple's misleading marketing around AI features. Approximately 36 million customers are eligible. Here's what you need to know to claim your share.

Why Apple is paying this settlement

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 16, marketing at the time heavily emphasized AI capabilities. The company promised enhanced Siri that would function as an intelligent agent, positioning these new devices as built specifically for advanced AI features.

Apple also marketed upcoming Apple Intelligence to iPhone 15 Pro buyers during this period. Customers purchased based on these promises.

At launch, Apple Intelligence was nowhere to be found. Five weeks later, iOS 18.1 arrived with basic tools like Writing Tools, Notification Summaries, and Clean Up in Photos. But the advanced Siri features Apple had prominently advertised were still missing.

The lawsuit alleged Apple deliberately misled consumers with deceptive advertising. Rather than fight the case, Apple agreed to the settlement to resolve claims and avoid prolonged litigation. The company's statement specified that this settlement did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

Who qualifies?

You're eligible if you purchased any of these devices between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025:

iPhone 16, iPhone 16E, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The iPhone 15 Pro models qualify because they have the processing power to run Apple Intelligence. Sources are reporting payouts range from $25 to $95 per eligible device depending on how many people claim their share.

How to claim your settlement

You don't need to act immediately. Apple is compiling eligible customer information and sending it to settlement administrator Verita.

Once verified, Verita will contact you via email and postal mail with a link to the settlement website. You'll have 90 days from the date you receive your notice to submit your claim.

Check your email carefully, including spam folders, because missing the deadline means losing your payment.

To file your claim, you'll need proof of purchase. If you have your receipt or confirmation email, save it. If not, Apple can verify your purchase through the Apple ID you used to set up the phone.

When will you actually get paid if eligible?

The settlement was approved in June 2026. After Apple provides customer data to Verita and verification is complete, a 45-day notice period begins informing eligible customers.

Payments are expected to arrive sometime after September 2026. Settlement processes can move slowly through verification and legal proceedings, so manage your expectations.

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Apple talked about a lot of great new stuff shown off at WWDC 2026, especially where iOS 27 was concerned. But if you watched the keynote address, you may be under the impression that the iOS 27 update consists mostly of AI updates and changes to Siri — but that's far from the case.

Now that we've had some time to dive into the iOS 27 developer beta, it's clear that there are a lot of new updates that Apple didn't tell us about. Obviously, the company can't cover every last little upgrade in an hour-long presentation, especially when you have several different operating systems to showcase. But even now, over a month since WWDC and the beta release, there are still features that Apple has stayed oddly quiet about.

From the features that were only mentioned in passing, to the ones Apple hasn't even acknowledged the existence of, here are seven of the best iOS 27 features Apple didn't tell you about.

1. Landscape mode in more apps

The iPhone has a funny history with landscape mode, and it's been impossible to rotate the home screen since the release of iPhone X back in 2017. That's still not possible in iOS 27, but what Apple has done is enable more first-party apps to appear in landscape orientation. That way, you're not restricted to keeping your phone in a lengthy, vertical position during use.

Such apps include Apple Music, Fitness, Health, Podcasts, Reminders, Home, Shortcuts, Find My, Voice Memos, Apple Watch, Weather and even the Apple TV remote. All you need to do is orient your phone sideways, and everything will rotate and appear in the correct positions. Some of them even get a left-aligned sidebar, which is rather nice.

It's speculated that the iPhone Ultra may be responsible, on account of its larger, iPad-style display. While that hasn't been confirmed yet, it's still nice to be able to have more choice in how you interact with apps.

2. An all new Drawing app for Messages

Speaking of sideways rotation, Apple seemingly killed off a feature in the Messages app that let you send handwritten texts by sliding your phone into landscape mode. Obviously, nobody likes losing features when the new version of iOS rolls around, but thankfully, that hasn't happened.

Instead, Apple has added a new Drawing applet for iMessage, which perfectly emulates the sketching feature that you'll have previously seen in Apple Notes and other apps. This is a much more bountiful way to draw, with different colors, styles, shapes and stickers all built directly into each specific chat.

3. Updates to Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet doesn't always get a lot of love, but iOS 27 has added two new features that could prove incredibly useful. The first is the ability to scan your dinner bills (or receipts from the store) and assign different items to people in your group. Wallet will then calculate the totals for each person, and give you the option to send Apple Cash requests to make sure they pay you back promptly.

Apple also helped Wallet catch up with Android rivals by adding the ability to create your own digital passes. This is useful for all those times you have tickets or membership cards that don't have native Apple Wallet support.

All you need to do is scan it into the app, and Apple Wallet will convert it into a virtual equivalent that works in exactly the same way as its physical counterpart. It's really convenient and means you're one small step closer to never needing to carry your wallet ever again.

4. Dual cameras in Facetime

Apple added a dual capture feature to the iPhone 17's camera, which lets you record videos from the front and rear cameras simultaneously. iOS 27 expands this feature and adds it to FaceTime, letting you make video calls while utilizing both your phone's cameras. Provided you're calling another iPhone with iOS 27, that is.

The potential use cases for this are pretty varied. For starters, it means you can show people exactly what you're looking at without having to cut the view of your face — which you definitely don't want to deprive people of seeing.

Alternatively, it's a way for calls to include even more people, since both cameras could be used to feature larger groups of people. Just be aware that the folks visible on the rear camera obviously won't be able to see what's happening on screen.

5. Changes to location sharing

Being able to share your location with friends and family has its uses, but there are some ways it could have been made better. iOS 27 has included a couple of extra options to facilitate that.

The first is the ability to customize how long you're sharing your location with a particular person, rather than having to choose between a single hour and until the end of the day. Now, you have full control with iOS 27, and you can automatically stop sharing your location at a predetermined date and time.

Apple's also given you the ability to stop sharing your location with a person without them getting a notification. There are plenty of reasons to not want to continuously share your location with people, but it can be awkward to try and explain why -- especially if that person is an overbearing parent or partner.

6. AI generated Safari extensions

Apple told us all about the new AI-powered tab organization in Safari on iOS 27, but it didn't mention that Safari is also getting a new feature that lets you create custom extensions. So if there's something you need Safari to do, and there isn't an official extension available in the App Store, you can simply ask Safari to make it for you.

You do get given some ideas on the kind of extensions you can create, or you can go completely free and simply tell Safari what you want it to make. There are limits to what it can do, and what you ask for doesn't always come out correctly in the current beta, but it at least offers something that you don't typically get in mobile browsers -- with the option to personalize your browser even more.

7. New AirPods software

Yes, believe it or not, the AirPods app got some cool new features that Apple didn't really feel the need to tell us about. One such feature is a new slider inside the AirPods app, which lets you adjust the level of Active Noise Canceling and Transparency mode.

It's only one slider, so reducing ANC increases transparency, and vice versa. However, it does mean that you no longer have to have each mode set to maximum all the time.

There's also a new custom EQ mixer, which lets you adjust various aspects of your AirPod sounds, including bass, midrange or treble. That way, you can personalize your music in a way that sounds good to your ears. However, this feature is only available on the latest AirPods earbuds, including AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple's response to RAMageddon could be to utilize Chinese RAM — but it won't mean lower prices for you
• Forget Chrome — Safari just got 3 massive Al upgrades in iOS 27
• iPhone 18 Pro Max tipped to be 'heaviest iPhone ever' — here’s 3 reasons why that’s a good thing

Most people buy an Apple Watch for two reasons: tracking exercise and checking notifications. But if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re only scratching the surface of what’s on your wrist.

Beneath the standard watchOS interface lies a powerhouse of hidden tools designed to save you time, streamline your daily routines, and even protect your peace of mind.

Here are five deeply underrated Apple Watch features that will fundamentally change how you use your wearable every single day.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to use Apple Watch hypertension alerts — the life-saving feature you need to turn on
• Get more from your Apple Watch — hidden Control Center features worth knowing
• 5 hidden settings that extend your Apple Watch's battery life

Lots of people lament the loss of the headphone jack and how that changed the way we use our phones, but me? I'm still not over the fact that expandable storage has been relegated to the bare minimum of budget handsets. These days it's been replaced with high storage options that add hundreds of dollars onto the cost of your phone.

I have always maintained that being forced to pay for the same amount of storage every time you buy a new phone is a total scam, certainly compared to being able to swap microSD cards from one device to another.

But more recently, after seeing the rumored price hikes that will affect flagship phones due to be released this year, I'm more convinced than ever that paying for storage is a complete waste of money.

Storage is an expensive addition

It's very easy to fill up your phone's storage without even realizing it. Whether you're obsessed with apps, or can't stop taking photos and videos or your daily life, that space fills up fast. I can't tell you the number of times I've almost filled up the 128GB of storage on my Pixel 10 Pro, and had to scramble to offload files and delete things that are just wasting space.

Obviously the easiest solution to this problem is to buy a phone with more storage. A 256GB model would effectively double my storage space, and that's just the next model up. These days most flagship phones offer at least 512GB and even 1TB storage options for the people that need a lot of space on their phones.

The downside is that this causes the price of your new phone to rise by quite a bit. The 128GB Pixel 10 Pro costs $999, which rises to $1,099 for 256GB, $1,219 for 512GB and $1,449 for 1TB. For the iPhone 17 Pro you're looking at a starting price of $1,099 for 256GB of storage, which rises to $1,299 and $1,499 for 512GB and 1TB models.

For both these phones, you could be paying 30 to 36% more simply by upgrading your storage. That may be a good deal for those of you that need the space, and want the convenience of easy-to-use and readily-available storage on your phone. But this ends up being an expense you have to buy every time you upgrade your phone. The storage doesn't come with you, and once you're finished with the phone all that extra space is gone unless you pay the premium again.

RAMageddon could make it worse

Right now the main problem is that the cost of storage is rising pretty rapidly. RAMageddon hasn't just affected the cost of memory, as AI data centers eat up as much supply as they can handle, they're also buying up storage as well. Which means the cost of storage is increasing, and we've already seen reports suggesting that this is going to affect the price of high-storage phone models.

EU price leaks for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra suggest that the upcoming foldable's price will increase by as much as €280 for a 1TB model. Meanwhile the 256GB and 512GB are rumored to be rising by €100 and €180, respectively.

Of course, these are just leaked prices in one part of the world, and there's no telling whether other phone companies will follow suit. In fact, the Pixel 11 Pro XL price leaks suggest a blanket €100 price increase for all models, regardless of how much storage they have. But it suggests we may be looking at a future where higher storage phones cost even more than they currently do, which means the premium of being able to have access to all that storage is even higher than before.

It certainly doesn't help that some phone companies might already follow Samsung's example, and start cutting the amount of RAM on low-storage models. That effectively means that the price tag for higher-specced variants has to cover the rising cost of storage and RAM.

How to avoid paying for high storage phones

Naturally there are some ways you can avoid having to pay for high storage phones, the simplest of which is to rely on the best cloud storage instead. However, that comes with the added issue of having to pay a continuous subscription fee to retain access to all the files and photos you offload to the cloud.

Plus, there will be occasions where you need to either upgrade your storage allowance (in exchange for more money) or sort through your backups to free up space. So you are only delaying the problem, even if the ability to beam things into cloud storage, and access it at any time via the internet, is very convenient.

Another option is to continually offload those same files to local storage, in the form of external hard drives or networked storage. Admittedly this makes it a lot harder to access files and photos when you don't have physical access to your drives, but it's a lot more cost effective than continuously paying for high-storage phones or cloud services.

Then again, there are some portable hard drives that feature MagSafe compatibility and let you store your extra storage on the back of your phone.

Of course there's also the tried-and-tested option, which is to buy a cheaper phone with lower amounts of storage, and do everything you can to stop it from filling up too quickly. We're talking about things like minimizing the amount of useless apps you have, shooting photos at a lower resolution, stop letting random files and downloads take up space they shouldn't have, and things of that nature.

Then again it's easier said than done to avoid high storage phones when companies are cutting the smaller 128GB models, and offering the more expensive 256GB option as the new entry-level model. As much as I was sick of having 128GB of base storage, I do wish more companies had followed Apple's example with iPhone 17 and increased the base storage at no extra cost.

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget Chrome — Safari just got 3 massive Al upgrades in iOS 27
• iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: 5 biggest expected differences
• I ignored every Galaxy Z Fold 8 rumor. Then these 3 leaks changed my mind

Google should capitalize on the recent success of the screen-free Fitbit Air fitness tracker and launch a Fitbit-branded smart ring to take on the Oura Ring 5, Samsung Galaxy Ring, and other major players in the space.

I review wearable tech for a living, and Google has never been in a more prime position to debut a finger-based holistic wearable to rival the best smart ring out there. Here are the three biggest reasons why.

1. Screen-free wearables are having a moment

The $99 Fitbit Air debuted just a few months ago to mostly positive reviews, including from me; I even picked it as one of the best fitness trackers in 2026. Not only that, I’m wearing one as I type this. That’s how much I dig Google’s latest tracker.

Moreover, Fitbit isn’t the only major tech brand doubling down on screenless wearables. Oura just refreshed its flagship model with the Oura Ring 5; Garmin is rumored to be imminently launching a Fitbit Air alternative, potentially called the Garmin Cirqa; and the Whoop 5.0 remains a super-popular tracker for hardcore and pro athletes.

IMHO, Google should take everything that makes the Fitbit Air great — the affordable price, comfortable design, solid battery life, easy-to-digest holistic insights, etc. — and reconfigure it into a smart ring.

The Fitbit Air already significantly undercuts the competition, Whoop, by a massive margin in terms of cost (an annual Whoop membership starts at $199). A Fitbit smart ring could potentially do the same versus Oura (the Oura Ring 5 starts at $499).

2. Google wearables are already subscription-optional, unlike the Oura Ring

Another major advantage Google has over both Oura and Whoop is a subscription-optional approach to health and fitness tracking. Take the Fitbit Air, for example: $99 gets you the device and access to all the tracker’s core holistic data via the Google Health app for no additional charge.

Want next-level AI-backed insights? Google Health Premium is optional at $9.99 per month or $99 per year. The premium service also includes access to “The Coach,” Google’s personalized AI trainer. Not sure if these insights/tools are right for you? Most Google wearables come with a free Premium subscription demo to try before you buy.

3. Fitbits work with Android and iOS, unlike the Galaxy Ring

This one applies less to the Oura Ring, which plays nicely with both Android and iOS devices. However, the Samsung Galaxy Ring — which is arguably the next-best smart ring to anything named Oura — is Android-only.

The fact that Fitbit wearables also work with both operating systems — and presumably, a Fitbit Ring would too — gives Google a potentially major advantage over Samsung in terms of acquiring new customers.

Then again, recent rumors suggest that a Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 is in the works, and that iPhone compatibility isn’t out of the question. That said, a refresh of the Galaxy Ring in 2026 seems unlikely, which is all the more reason for Google to roll out a Fitbit Ring sooner rather than later.

What do you think? Would you be interested in a Google/Fitbit Ring? Let me know in our poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker
• Exclusive: Google design director says Fitbit Air reception proves they 'made the right decision' going screen-free
• I manually counted 5,000 steps to test the Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air, and Apple wins the accuracy battle while offering superior elevation data

We're now into July, which means we've done six full months of testing here at Tom's Guide in 2026. From coffee machines, through to vacuums, gaming handhelds, laptops and phones — not only is it our job to put tech through its paces, it's what our journalists, editors and contributors love to do.

I'm Pete, Senior Reviews Editor here at Tom's Guide, and I head up our reviews coverage on site. My team of dedicated reviews writers alone have lab tested and reviewed hundreds of products already this year, with the wider Tom's Guide editorial team having testing dozens more. If you've not had your finger precisely on the pulse of the latest tech this year, well, I don't blame you — it's hard to keep tabs on everything. That's why we exist.

To help, I've gathered the Tom's Guide team's favorite products from 2026 so far. Obviously, I can't fit everything into a single article, so I asked our subject experts across the site to give me their top picks, too. I've also curated the top five highest scorers, which stand above the rest. Every product on here has been tested by us, hands-on, as part of a full, extensive review.

Read on to see the tech Tom's Guide loved in the first half of 2026.

Tom's Guide's Top 5

Every product on this list has scored at least four stars, earning our TG Recommended or Editor's Choice badges. But there are five products on this list that scored our full five stars after testing. These are the best of the best so far this year. To save you some time, here are the links to our reviews.

• DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review ★★★★★
• 007 First Light review ★★★★★
• KitchenAid Artisan Plus review ★★★★★
• Gozney Dome XL Gen 2 review ★★★★★
• Samsung S95H OLED review ★★★★★

Keep reading to see the rest of our top tested picks for 2026.

AI

Rokid Glasses

After 5,000 miles in the Rokids, we were seriously impressed
Score: ★★★★☆

The best smart glasses without a display are cool and all, but their features are usually rather limited to just asking questions about what you see. The Rokid Glasses proved to me that adding a screen turns that superpower into an ambient computing platform — offering features only when you need them and disappearing into the background in some stylish specs.

With that display, you get real-time conversation translation with text subtitles so you’re not having to try to listen to your smart glasses talk over the person in front of you. And the multi-modality unlocked by asking a question and just getting answers you can see makes them much more subtle. Not to say they’re perfect — the camera quality for snapping pictures suffers in low light and some features are very China-specific (like Alipay). But arm these with Google Gemini in setup, and they’re a genuinely helpful companion on your face for a decent price.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Rokid Glasses review

Cameras & drones

GoPro Mission 1 Pro

GoPro's return to form in the action camera game
Score: ★★★★½

After years essentially re-releasing the same Hero cameras with minor tweaks, GoPro has finally pushed itself. The Mission 1 Pro is pricey, but it’s the first GoPro I’ve been excited about in a while. It seriously impressed me with its powerful and versatile video credentials in testing, namely open gate 8K and a wealth of shooting features that make it ideal for its target market: professionals. Thanks to revised processor architecture and a shiny new battery, I managed to extract unparalleled battery life and thermals versus other action cameras in my standardized battery tests. GoPro is back!

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full GoPro Mission 1 Pro review

DJI Osmo Pocket 4

The best all-around tool for content creation
Score: ★★★★★

I awarded the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 our full five stars in my review, and that’s because I literally couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Aside from the fact that it’s not available in America (yet?) due to tariffs and DJI’s ongoing feud with the U.S. government. The Osmo Pocket 4 improved on its predecessor in every single way that mattered: video, stabilization, storage, thermals, battery life, and more. If you’re after a single tool for professional-looking content creation, I really can’t think of anything better to recommend.

Pete Wolinski, Senior Reviews & Cameras Editor
Read Pete’s full DJI Osmo Pocket 4 review

DJI Avata 360

Although a little late to the 360 party, DJI absolutely smashed it
Score: ★★★★½

The DJI Avata 360 does exactly what you want a drone to do: make flying fun. It stakes its claim as the best 360° drone around (granted, there are only two at the time of writing, but still!) and its twin lenses capture every single angle in 8K at 60fps. 120MP hi-res stills, user-friendly editing software, and exceptional build quality make it the drone to buy today. It also undercuts its main competitor, the Antigravity A1, and with dual ways to fly (FPV and with a standard controller), the Avata 360 is versatile and oh-so-powerful. Every day I still think about it — and as someone who’s tested many, many quadcopters, that’s saying a lot.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full DJI Avata 360 review

Computing & gaming

MacBook Neo

Our favorite budget laptop, literally ever
Score: ★★★★½

Value for money in laptops has become a bit of a running joke this year (thanks, RAMageddon). But of all the companies building notebooks, I didn’t anticipate it would be Apple to deliver the goods and give you an honest-to-god well-priced system. Yes, there’s been a $100 increase recently, but even with that, the premium aluminum build quality, great display, tactile keyboard and zippy performance of that A18 Pro makes for a great system for the day-to-day essentials.

I must admit, to see Apple actually having fun with colors in its MacBooks is a refreshing change from the blacks and silvers of its more expensive lineage. All of this comes together into a laptop that has terrified the budget Windows laptop market, and the best ultra portable we’ve tested this year.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read our full MacBook Neo review

Asus Zenbook Duo (2026)

Dual OLED panels = chef's kiss
Score: ★★★★½

Yes, this is a dual-screen OLED beauty of a premium laptop; Asus has really paid attention to the design and ergonomics of a system like this. But the real superpower is what lies inside that shell. Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (codenamed Panther Lake) has been a truly generational moment for Team Blue in its Windows laptops, and it comes down to huge updates to both the performance and power efficiency.

Those new CPU cores and efficiency architecture they’re built onto gives this a gargantuan battery life that would make a MacBook blush, while the superpowered GPU (alongside XeSS 3) gives this some serious gaming laptop chops too. Usually, you had to be considerate of just what you wanted to do with your Windows laptop and decide on the strengths and compromises around that. With anything that sports an X9 chip like this, though, that’s no longer a compromise you have to make.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) review

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

A true next-gen gaming handheld
Score: ★★★★☆

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ delivers the performance jump I’ve been waiting years for. With Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme chip, games are pulling a 20 to 30+ FPS advantage over AMD Z2 Extreme handhelds. Battery life gets a big boost too. I could hit the same performance as the Z2 Extreme at half the power consumption. Combine that with its major redesign bringing more Xbox-like controls, better haptics, and its large 8-inch 16:10 display, and you’re getting, in my opinion, one of the best handheld gaming consoles of 2026.

Paul Antill, Video Producer
Read our full MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

007 First Light

Forget GoldenEye: this is the best Bond game ever
Score: ★★★★★

Gamers are being treated to a licensed games renaissance right now. The days of cheap cash-ins launched to coincide with a new blockbuster movie are over. But even in this golden era for video games based on popular media franchises, 007 First Light surpasses expectations.

Forget GoldenEye, First Light is the best James Bond game ever. With its ludicrously cinematic gameplay, compelling narrative that focuses on a younger Bond (played by Patrick Gibson), and deep commitment to authenticity, 007 First Light is easily the best thing to come out of this long-running spy series in 20 years, movies included. There’s a reason it was only the second video game I’ve given the full five stars. Whether you’re a longtime Bond fan or a newcomer, 007 First Light is quite simply unmissable.

Rory Mellon, Senior Entertainment Editor
Read Rory's full 007 First Light review

Epomaker Glyph

Nikita's dream keyboard
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve tested close to 100 keyboards in my time as a reviews writer, and it isn’t often that I get to proclaim, “I’ve found my dream keyboard.” Ever since I tested the Epomaker Glyph, it hasn’t left my desk, and it’s my daily driver when I’m at the office. Typewriter-like aesthetics, a return lever that acts as an Enter or Backspace key, beautiful RGB lighting, a creamy sound profile, and a typing experience that’s nothing short of stunning — all of these characteristics come together to deliver what’s probably the best mechanical keyboard I’ve used for typing. I’m a speed demon when I’m bashing out 109 words per minute of this thing.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full Epomaker Glyph review

(A note from Nikita's editor, Pete: "I can confirm, the Glyph genuinely hasn't left her desk!")

MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36

Pro performance for under $1,000
Score: ★★★★½

It’s no secret that MSI knows how to make a great gaming monitor, and its MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 is one of the most beautiful displays I’ve ever tested. Blistering 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time for buttery smooth gameplay? Check. Ridiculously accurate colors and wide color coverage? Yep. AI sleep and wake features that are actually useful and not just a gimmick? Oh yeah. And all of this is packed into a sleek design with plenty of ports. Not much to complain about here, really.

Nikita Achanta, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Nikita’s full MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 review

Viture Beast AR glasses

Beast by name, beast by nature
Score: ★★★★½

I’ve traveled the world testing all of this year’s biggest AR glasses releases, and Viture Beast stands head and shoulders above the pack as the best I’ve used this year (so far). There’s three reasons why: picture quality, comfort and features. Viture’s color science and fidelity really shines in those micro-OLED displays with a massive 58-degree field of view. There’s a little edge fringing on the sides, but given the massive vision field, it’s unlikely you’ll notice it. And this is packed into a nice-feeling pair of glasses with a soft-touch coating that sits gently on your ears with optimal weight balance. Cap it all off with plenty of customization built in, plus the SpaceWalker app for multi-monitor home office setups, and the Beast are…well…pretty beastly for work and play.

Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Read Jason's full Viture Beast review

Fitness

Fitbit Air

The best Whoop alternative, and subscription-free
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitbit Air is my fitness tracker of the year so far. Discreet and distraction-free (no screen), this is a fitness tracker that's easy to use, lightweight, and oh-so-comfortable. Just $99 and subscription-free for core features, it offers a week of battery life and covers all the holistic metrics you'd expect from a modern device, like heart health, sleep quality, daily movement, and workouts. For most people, this is the best screen-free fitness tracker you can buy, and the new Google Health companion app makes viewing all your health data a dream.

Jane McGuire, Managing Editor, Fitness
Read our full Fitbit Air review

Salomon XT-6

Hike, shop or relax in comfort and style
Score: ★★★★½

The Salomon XT-6 shoes have become a staple in my closet. Whether I’m heading to the store or hitting up a challenging trail on the weekend, I know I’ll be supported. I wore these hiking sneakers on a city break, where I clocked over 93,000 steps and didn’t have a single complaint. Not only that, the multidirectional lugs kept me stable on even the trickiest terrain, as I hiked in mud, over rocks, and through water.

On top of their technical ability, the XT-6s are a fashion statement, worn all over New York by fashion-forward celebs; these shoes have earned a coveted spot in my daily rotation — although you’ll find me cleaning the mud off them after each adventure.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Salomon XT-6 review

Homes

Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless

A powerful cordless Dyson that's perfect for pet owners
Score: ★★★★☆

I’ve tested my fair share of Dyson vacuum cleaners in my time, but I must say that the V16 combines all of my favorite features in one cleaner. First, its upgraded ‘Fluffy Cones’ head is designed to be used on both carpets and hard flooring without the need to swap over attachments. This is a great time-saver, and lets me quickly zip around my home without pausing. Perhaps my favorite feature is the dust-detecting green light which reveals those hidden dustballs lurking underneath furniture and in corners. Plus, it’s lightweight and easy to store, which is why it’s now my go-to for daily maintenance, and why I awarded our Editor’s Choice badge.

Cynthia Lawrence, Homes Editor
Read Cynthia’s full Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless review

KitchenAid Artisan Plus

The latest version of KitchenAid's legendary mixer, and the best one yet
Score: ★★★★★

I got to test KitchenAid’s newest stand mixer, the Artisan Plus, and it’s even better than I imagined. I’d been happily using KitchenAid’s Artisan stand mixer as my go-to appliance for a good few years, and I really didn’t see how it could be improved, but it has. It may only seem like a few tweaks, but they have made a big difference. From the sliding speed control that just glides, to the in-bowl light, which illuminates the mix — and let's not forget the double-edge flex beater that cleans the bowl as it sweeps past— I loved it so much during testing that I gave it a 5-star rating.

Camilla Sharman, Staff Writer
Read Camilla’s full KitchenAid Artisan Plus review

Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2)

The undisputed king of pizza ovens
Score: ★★★★★

If you’re a dedicated — and I mean dedicated — at-home pizza maker, the Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) is the closest you’ll come to actually building a pizza oven from scratch. It can run on either gas, wood, or charcoal, has dual temperature probes, and is big enough to fit a 16-inch pie with room to spare. I loved its easy-to-ready displays, and the design of the oven is just gorgeous, too. Yes, it’s huge and it’s expensive (I’ve made equally good pizzas in much cheaper ovens), but this is the oven that’ll signal you’re the real pizzaiolo in your neighborhood.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read Mike’s full Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) review

Fellow Espresso Series 1

Beginners or pros, coffee snobs or otherwise — this one is for everyone
Score: ★★★★½

When Fellow designed the Espresso Series 1, it looked at the other espresso machines out there and thought, “I’m going to do something different.” And different the Espresso Series 1 is. When I tested this machine, I loved that it provided coffee-snob-approved features while still being usable for complete beginners. On top of having a litany of customization options on the machine itself, I loved having the app, which walked me through how to make every type of coffee ever invented. You may think this is too ambitious, but for me, the Espresso Series 1 hits all its marks and comes out victorious.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Fellow Espresso Series 1 review

Phones

Apple iPhone 17

A surprisingly solid update over the previous generation
Score: ★★★★½

Apple launched more new phones than in any previous year, but the iPhone 17 remains my favorite for several reasons. One thing that makes it stand out is that it finally got a long-overdue upgrade to a 120Hz refresh rate, making its screen look even more fluid than before in testing. On top of that, I really love how it didn’t get a price hike and still managed to get double the starting storage.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read John's full iPhone 17 review

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The phone that'll get better over time
Score: ★★★★½

When it comes to Android phones, nothing caught my eye more than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung’s flagship received all the iterative updates it deserved, but one particular new feature stood out most: the Privacy Display. It works like magic, making the screen look dark when someone tries to peek at it from the side. You can even customize it to block out specific parts of the display — like when you’re messaging someone. This exclusive feature is what sets it apart from everything else.

John Velasco, Senior Phones Editor
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review

Sleep

Saatva Zenhaven Mattress

What you should be sleeping on in 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The Saatva Zenhaven latex mattress blew our socks off during testing, thanks to its naturally cooling and supportive sleep feel for eco-conscious shoppers. Handcrafted in the US from (mostly) organic materials, the Zenhaven boasts a flippable design with a different tension on each side: Luxury Plush and Gentle Firm. We appreciated how one side boasted more cushioning for side sleepers, while the unyielding feel of the firmer side best-suited back and stomach sleepers. At $3,549 at full MSRP it’s a splurge, but cheaper during Saatva mattress sales. However, it’s worth noting that latex mattresses can last up to 20 years, so we think it’s worth the investment.

Nicola Appleton, Sleep Editor
Read our full Saatva Zenhaven Mattress review

Fitnexa SomniPods 3

If you struggle sleeping, these earbuds are for you
Score: ★★★★☆

The Fitnexa SomniPods 3 are compact sleep earbuds that helped me sleep better in even the most disruptive environments (like my neighbor's son playing basketball at unsociable hours). Fitted with built-in white noise, excellent active noise cancelation, plus sleep tracking features, they’re an easy recommendation for any troubled sleepers. But the real stand-out feature for me is the Fitnexa app. Here, your own AI coach waits for you, ready to provide personalized advice based on your sleep tracking data, activity logs and food diaries. The info isn’t quite on par with a qualified sleep professional but thanks to the wealth of data to draw from, it was pretty spot on in testing, helping take the SomniPods from sleep earbud to all-round sleep enhancer.

Ruth Jones, Senior Sleep Writer
Read Ruth's full Fitnexa SomniPods 3 review

Smart home & security

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+

A fantastic way to improve security on a budget
Score: ★★★★☆

Blink has long been one of our favorite budget smart home brands, and its newest battery-powered video doorbell furthers its reputation as a value leader. The Battery Doorbell 2K+ delivered very good 2K video in our testing — not the tops, but for a sub-$100 device it was more than acceptable. And, while it runs on AA batteries, they’ll last up to two years on a charge. You can also use this video doorbell without a subscription (you’ll need to purchase a separate adapter), but Blink’s subscription price is relatively affordable.

Mike Prospero, U.S. Editor-in-chief
Read our full Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+ review

TV & Audio

Samsung S95H OLED

Supreme picture quality, even in bright rooms
Score: ★★★★★

I’ve tested countless TVs, but the Samsung S95H is the first unit in several years that truly surpassed all my expectations. It completely shatters the familiar rules of OLED, obliterating ambient glare and delivering an unprecedented, jaw-dropping brightness in the self-emissive category. Even the floating metal bezel (a design choice I fully assumed I'd hate) adds a striking, premium presence I grew to love. Between its breathtaking performance and how seamlessly it transitions into a decor piece via Samsung Art Store support, this is a flagship that stands as a definitive standard-bearer.

Kate Kozuch, Managing Editor
Read Kate's full Samsung S95H OLED review

AirPods Max 2

Everything is dialed up to 11
Score: ★★★★½

It’s impossible to be a tech lover and not have strong opinions about Apple’s new AirPods Max 2. Some people love them, some people hate them, but I’m firmly in the first camp. The AirPods Max 2 are headphones that know what they’re about, and they’re not apologizing for it. With gorgeous anodized aluminum ear cups and an all-metal headband, they’re not the lightest cans in the world, but the sound more than makes up for it.

Every detail is clear, mids are melodic and vivacious, and the bass is balanced, rich, and warm. Of course, you’ve also got industry-leading smart tech features like Live Translation and integrated Siri, but Apple users looking for the best headphones need look no further than Apple’s own.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full Apple AirPods Max 2 review

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO

Open earbuds that make no sacrifices
Score: ★★★★½

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO have completely changed the way I think about open-earbuds (and I’ve tested a lot). Up until testing the ZEROs, I’d accepted that if I wanted ambient awareness, comfort and stability while working out, I’d need to sacrifice sound quality — but they prove that’s not the case. They provided me with the detailed listening experience I love from Beyerdynamic’s other headphones, without compromising bass performance, delivering perfectly balanced sound. I wear them when I’m working, running, or hiking in the rain (thanks to IP54 durability). They’re the only open earbuds I’ve tested with no compromises.

Ashley Thieme, Staff Writer
Read Ashley’s full Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review

JBL Xtreme 5

The party speaker for summer 2026
Score: ★★★★½

The JBL Xtreme 5 came, it saw, and it conquered. JBL really understood the assignment with the surprise follow-up to 2024’s Xtreme 4. Everything about the Xtreme 5 oozes confidence: the deft, controlled bass that’ll have your floorboards shaking and your bones quaking; the literally unbeatable IP68 rating that protects it against rain, sand, and drops; the gorpcore, utilitarian design; and of course the rugged 24-hour battery life. This is the party speaker of 2026. I’ve tested hundreds of audio products and Bluetooth speakers, but the Xtreme 5 is a special one.

Erin Bashford, Senior Reviews Writer
Read Erin’s full JBL Xtreme 5 review

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Apple on Friday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the artificial intelligence company engaged in the theft of trade secrets, intellectual property and actively coached departing Apple employees how to evade the company's security policies.

"At every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information," the suit says.

The suit, filed in federal court in Northern California, calls for an injunction against OpenAI, as well as unspecified damages resulting from the theft of Apple's trade secrets.

We've gone through the entire lawsuit; here are four of the biggest allegations Apple claims.

Holding on to company property

One of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit is Chang Liu, who was a Senior System Electrical Engineer at Apple for eight years, and joined OpenAI in January 2026. The suit alleges that Liu realized he was able to still access Apple's confidential files after leaving, and then also instructed another colleague on how she could also pass along information.

"Within hours of leaving Apple, Mr. Liu shared with Ms. Peng, “I still have another computer” he was planning to use to access Apple’s confidential information so he could discuss it with Ms. Peng that evening. Within weeks of departing Apple, Mr. Liu also used Ms. Peng’s Apple-issued work computer that was authenticated to Apple’s network — accessing it while she was still employed at Apple and he was not."

Mr. Liu discovered that, surprisingly, he still could access the Apple’s network repository after leaving Apple, the result of a then-unknown authentication vulnerability. Rather than bringing this to Apple’s attention or protecting Apple’s confidential information as required by his IPA, Mr. Liu celebrated his find with Ms. Peng and set about exploiting it: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.” Ms. Peng’s response was immediate: “I’m ready.”

Show-and-tell

Apple alleges that, as part of OpenAI's interview process, Tang Yew Tan, who was the Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch, and now OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer, asked Apple employees to bring detailed CAD drawings, prototypes and other samples.

"Mr. Tan has directed candidates to bring physical hardware components, “parts,” and product samples from their Apple work to their OpenAI interviews for “show and tell” sessions that would disclose Apple’s proprietary technologies. For example, messages left on an Apple-issued work device show that Mr. Tan instructed an Apple employee to “bring some parts [she] worked on” such as “Batteries,” “SIP” (Systems-in-Package), “mlb” (multi-layer or main logic boards), and “shields” and that it may “be good to show” other interviewers these Apple components."

Going after Apple's vendors

The lawsuit also alleges that OpenAI went after Apple's suppliers to gain additional information about Apple's manufacturing processes and components.

"OpenAI also has been targeting Apple’s prized partner network and supply chain directly. It has been using misappropriated knowledge of Apple’s confidential relationships, manufacturing and design processes, and proprietary terminology to extract from trusted third parties additional trade secret information and processes."

Coaching departing Apple employees

It's no secret that a number of Apple employees have left to go to OpenAI; the suit alleges that the company coached them how to announce their departures in such a way that they could continue to remove confidential information.

"OpenAI has actively coached Apple employees on how to manage their exits from Apple in ways that avoid scrutiny. This helps OpenAI’s new hires evade Apple’s security procedures and reduce the chance that their confidentiality violations and trade secret theft would be detected."

"OpenAI has counseled departing employees not to disclose their next employer and given advice on how to avoid the “dreaded walk out” that would promptly remove them from the company rather than giving them a standard two weeks in which they could continue to access Apple’s confidential information and trade secrets."

The takeaway

Obviously, this is a huge lawsuit with massive implications. As recently as two years ago, the companies were in a partnership to use ChatGPT in Apple products, but as OpenAI has announced its ambitions to get into hardware, there's been increasing friction between the companies — not helped by the fact that a number of Apple employees have gone to work at OpenAI.

Most likely, this suit will take years to settle, but it could drastically shape the fortunes of both companies.

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Apple makes some of the best smartwatches money can buy. However, battery life has never been the Apple Watch’s strong suit. The Series 11 lasts an average of 24 hours, the SE 3 lasts roughly 18 hours, and the Ultra 3 lasts about 42 hours per charge.

Looking to squeeze a little more juice? Apple’s low-power mode is one option. For example, on the Series 11, it can extend your battery life up to 38 hours per charge. The trade-off is that the handy features you paid for, like the always-on display and continuous heart rate monitoring, get disabled.

Rather than losing essential Apple Watch features, what follows are three settings you can change that won’t impact the user experience much but will noticeably improve your device’s battery life.

Best of all, you don’t need to own one of the best Apple Watches, i.e., the latest/greatest model. These battery life tips work for older models, too.

1. Turn off 'Background app refresh'

The apps on your Apple Watch are constantly updating and/or refreshing with new content behind the scenes, which can lead to faster-than-normal battery drain, especially if you have loads of third-party ones.

For example, an app like AP News pulls in updates throughout the day so that when you open it, you see the newest headlines. Switching off background app refresh means that you may need to wait a few seconds for the freshest news to appear, but that’s a worthwhile trade-off for improved battery performance as far as I'm concerned.

To switch background app refresh off, head to the settings menu > general, and scroll down.

2. Turn on 'Reduce motion'

Apple wants your experience operating the Apple Watch to be as smooth and seamless as possible. As a result, the user interface is chock-full of quick animations that make transitioning from one app to another, for example, a more visually appealing experience.

However, these animations are far from essential. Reduce motion switches them off, saving you battery. Moreover, I find the difference between motion on and off hardly noticeable, and I’m guessing you will too.

The reduced motion setting is located under the settings menu, followed by accessibility. Scroll about halfway down to toggle it.

3. Turn off 'Optimize charge limit'

Last but not least, to ensure I get the best possible battery life out of my Apple Watch, I always turn off the “optimize charge limit” setting. This feature is designed to prevent your smartwatch from overcharging, which should in turn extend its long-term battery life.

However, optimizing the charge limit also cuts off charging at 80%, which isn’t ideal. To turn off the optimize charge limit setting, head to the settings menu > battery > battery life.

One note of caution: If you take my advice and switch it off to get that extra 20% juice, get in the habit of keeping an eye on your Apple Watch while it recharges. Leaving it unattended on a charger, especially overnight, could result in the need for a premature battery replacement.

Moreover, while older smartwatches take a few hours to fully juice up, the latest generations recharge from 0% to 100% in about an hour... so no excuses.

What are your favorite Apple Watch battery-saving tips? Let me know in the comments below.

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Earlier this week, we heard about a report claiming that the foldable iPhone Ultra may not be released alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Instead, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said it would likely be released a little later in the year due to supply issues — which is exactly what happened with the release of the iPhone X back in 2017.

But a new report has refuted that assessment, claiming that the iPhone Ultra will land at the same time as its non-folding compatriots. According to China's Cailian Press, sources from the supply chain claim that a September delivery should be "no problem" and that "they have not heard" of any potential delay in release.

Kuo's initial report suggested that the complex production would limit the availability of the iPhone Ultra following an official reveal at the September Apple event. Apparently, Apple would only have 0.5 to 1 million units ready to ship in Q3 2026, which is a fraction of the ten million units Apple is expected to ship over the course of the next 12 months.

Kuo warned that this could lead to Apple pushing the official pre-order and release dates back to Q4. Such a limited supply would also likely lead to lengthy wait times and scalpers attempting to capitalize on the situation.

But Cailian Press's sources paint a different picture. They claim that the iPhone Ultra's design has been finalized, and the companies involved are "currently in peak production season." That suggests that production on this year's iPhones is already underway and happening as expected.

What's actually happening?

So who do we believe? That's a very tricky question, to be honest, and we're definitely not going to get any official comment from Apple. The company keeps everything very close to its chest, and that means the first time we'll hear about official iPhone Ultra release details is at the launch event in September.

It's possible that both reports have an air of truth to them. The iPhone Ultra could arrive in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, but could only be available in limited quantities at first. If that's the case, we could see the foldable iPhone sell out quite quickly — even if the starting price really is as high as $2,500.

We definitely don't recommend rewarding scalpers for buying up all the stock they can, so avoid buying the iPhone Ultra from resellers wherever possible. If you do have your heart set on purchasing a foldable iPhone, remember that Apple has a vested interest in restocking as quickly as possible. So just wait a little while

But we're just going to be patient and see what happens at the September Apple event. In the meantime, be sure to check out our iPhone Ultra hub to read up on all the latest news and rumors regarding Apple's first-ever foldable.

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Apple typically launches a headline Back to School promotion in June or July in the United States and Canada, offering students and educational staff a great opportunity to save some money. That's especially important this year, since Apple recently raised prices on all its MacBooks and iPads — including the much-loved MacBook Neo.

Last year's campaign arrived on June 17 — and while Apple's Education Store is seemingly updated for the 2026-2027 school year, there doesn't seem to be what I'd call a standout offer yet. In years past, we had gift cards or free accessories with purchases, but in 2026 Apple is currently keeping things limited to "education savings" on a few key products.

There could still be a larger promotion waiting in the wings. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicted on X that we would see Apple's Back to School offering arrive last week, but didn't elaborate on what it might entail.

Back in 2017 and 2018, Apple waited until July 12 to launch its Back to School promotion, so there is precedent for waiting this late for an eye-catching offer to drop.

However, unlike in previous years, Apple is tightening up on who actually qualifies for education savings and also requiring proof.

So, let's dive into exactly what you can expect from Apple's Back to School offering right now, how you qualify, and why you'll want to take advantage of any price drops you can right now.

Apple's Back to School Promotion: What you (currently) get

What you actually get in the Apple Back to School promotion can change from year to year. Last year, students would receive a free accessory, depending on what they bought. So if you picked up a MacBook, you could get a $179 pair of AirPods 4 with noise cancelling for free. Likewise, if you bought an iPad, you could pick up a $119 Apple Pencil Pro free of charge thanks to the promotion.

It was a more prescriptive offer than the 2024 Back to School promotion when Apple handed out a $150 gift card with qualifying purchases.

Judging by the state of Apple's Education Store, the current deals you can get are the following:

• The MacBook Air is $100 less with Education Savings, bringing the starting price down from $1,299 to $1,119.
• The Apple Watch Series 11 has been reduced by $40 bringing the starting price down to $359 from $399 with Education Savings.
• The student-focused MacBook Neo is also $100 less and down to a starting price of $599 from $699.
• The MacBook Pro is down to a starting price of $1,899.
• The iPad Air starts at $699 with the Education Savings offer applied.
• Students can get Apple Creator Studio for $2.99 per month rather than the regular $12.99 a month price.
• Free engravings on accessories like AirPods 4, Apple Pencil, and iPhone 17 phone case

Those reductions on MacBooks are somewhat bittersweet, given that all they really do is mitigate some of the damage from the price increases Apple put in place in June.

While Apple Watches haven't yet had their prices increased, last month Apple revealed that both versions of the MacBook Air (13-inch and 15-inch) would cost $200 more while the MacBook Neo would cost $100 more.

Of course, any price reduction is music to my ears, but I would really like to see a single headline-grabbing promotion like a free accessory, gift card or further price drop rolled out over the next few days.

Apple's Back to School Promotion: Who can qualify

Apple's promotion is open to K-12 employees, including teachers and school board members, plus higher education faculty, staff, and students. Any parents of kids heading to college can also qualify.

In order to verify that you meet the above conditions, Apple is using a third-party platform called UNiDAYS, which you'll need to sign up for (by following the prompts) if you want to complete a purchase. You will need to input information like your name, the name of your school, and your faculty email address.

Once you've signed up to the platform, you'll be able to access a number of education-focused discounts.

Apple's Back to School Promotion: Will it even happen?

Apple attempted to insulate its customers as much as possible from industry price hikes driven by rising demand from AI development. Unfortunately, CEO Tim Cook admitted the "unprecedented challenge" had forced them to increase prices. And there's no guarantee they'll go back down again any time soon.

“We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable," Cook told the WSJ earlier this year.

That's why when opportunities to save money come around, it's sensible to act on them swiftly. While the iPhone and Apple Watch were excluded from the price hikes, the new models expected to arrive in September will almost certainly carry higher launch prices than last year's models.

The obvious question, of course, is whether or not a Back to School promotion will even happen in 2026? Apple, like every company, ultimately needs to make money and it might decide this year it simply can't (or won't) mount a sale when component prices are so steep.

The good news is that — whether you qualify for Education Pricing or not — we're constantly hunting the best Apple deals out there. In fact, we have a dedicated Savings Squad devoted to finding the latest price cuts on a range of back to school laptops to help you beat price hikes.

Right now, you can grab a restored 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip for $579 at Walmart. It's an older laptop, but it'll still surpass the MacBook Neo when it comes to performance. Or how about the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro chip that's currently $200 off at Best Buy? Yes, it's a costly affair at $1,799 but it's perfect for creative pro students.

Keep checking back to Tom's Guide for the best sales we find, and let me know in the comments if you've spotted any killer deals of your own. Together, we'll make sure to beat the constant price hikes 2026 seems intent on serving up to us.

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• Apple's response to RAMageddon could be to utilize Chinese RAM — but it won't mean lower prices for you

RAMageddon is not going to end anytime soon, and the increasing cost of memory is causing the price of all our gadgets to start climbing. In fact, the situation is so bad that analysts predict the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max's price could rise by as much as $200 when it arrives later this year. But Apple may have a plan.

Reports first appeared a few days ago, claiming that Apple was considering sourcing DRAM chips from Chinese companies ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Now, though, a new report suggests Apple is already actively testing DRAM from CXMT. Currently around 90% of the global DRAM market is controlled by the big three memory makers: Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. But if Apple is happy with the results from these Chinese makers, it could help ease the burden overpriced RAM is putting on the company right now.

There's one big issue, though. CXMT and YMTC are both listed on the Department of Defence's 1260H list — characterized as "entities identified as Chinese military companies." Doing business with such companies is not a crime in the U.S., but it does run the risk of major political and regulatory backlash.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is in the process of lobbying the Trump administration in a bid to soften the potential political fallout from making a deal with CXMT and YMTC. Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook has also said that all avenues to solve the memory crisis should be explored when asked about the possibility of utilizing Chinese-made DRAM by the Wall Street Journal.

Politics means this may not impact you at all

Because of those problems, the new report claims that Apple will only be using Chinese-sourced DRAM in Chinese devices. Since iPhones made for the Chinese market have distinct hardware and software compared to international models, there's little chance of those devices accidentally ending up in the international supply chain. And if Apple can insulate Chinese iPhones, it can do the same for other products that may end up with Chinese DRAM as well.

Obviously having Apple adopt Chinese DRAM is not going to have an overnight impact on the cost of Apple products around the world. That said, the Chinese phone market is enormous and Apple is reported to have claimed 25% of the Chinese phone market following the launch of iPhone 17. Considering there are over a billion people in China, that's an awful lot of phones to be selling.

If such a large market is being catered to with domestically produced DRAM, it frees up some of the international supply. Those chips will almost certainly still come from the same suppliers as always; it just means Apple won't need as many chips. So that eases the burden on Apple, and hopefully means the pressure to continually increase prices to cover the rising memory costs is at least partially abated.

In an ideal world, any noticeable drop in demand would lead to lower prices, but with AI data centers eating up all the RAM, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. It's also worth mentioning that domestic companies reign supreme in China, and seeing foreign companies (like Apple) succeed is not that common. This means it's unlikely many companies will be able to follow Apple's example, and certainly not at the same scale.

But whether the politicians will agree that the situation requires fraternizing with Chinese firms that are on the U.S. government's naughty list is another matter. So we'll just have to see how this plays out, and whether it's actually going to matter to those of us who don't live in China.

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There are a lot of changes that have come as part of iOS 27, which is currently only available in beta. Some of those changes are big and important, like Siri AI, while others are pretty minor and aren't worth making much fuss about — including a redesigned to-do list icon.

However, there are some great features that are flying under the radar, such as the changes that have been made to Safari. Browser features may not be the most exciting thing Apple could have revealed at WWDC 2026, but these sound like the kind of features that will prove invaluable once you've gotten used to them.

They're also the kind of features that make Chrome seem fairly quaint in comparison.

AI tab organization

We've all been there, spending hours browsing the web on our phones, only to find we have a ridiculous number of tabs open and have no idea which one is which. Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 features an organizational feature that groups similar tabs together, and makes it much easier to search through them all.

Personally I haven't really seen much of this in action, but I'm also the kind of person that is fairly conservative with the number of tabs I have open. Then again, the new ability to have my tabs automatically organized by category means I may not be quite so callous to them in the future. There might not be such a need to smite stray tabs so quickly if I know that they are less likely to get lost in a sea of other tabs

Setting this feature up is really easy too. All you need to do is head to Safari's tab menu, tap the three line button in the top left, followed by Organize Tabs and Automatically Create Topics.

If you have enough tabs open, this will group them together based on similar topics. This way you at least have a starting place for that stray window you were looking at last week, but can't quite remember which website you were looking at.

Notify Me

Some of the big vacations I've done in recent years involved waking up at an ungodly hour and staring at multiple screens for extended periods of time. This inevitably means I end up sitting in a virtual queue, and wait for my turn to buy tickets to some sort of event or attraction that's too popular for me to risk waiting until a reasonable time of day to purchase.

Safari on iOS 27 can't magically stop people from trying to buy tickets the second they land, nor can it prevent bots from buying up the entire supply within a few seconds. But what it can do is monitor a website, and notify you when something changes.

That way you can relax a little bit, safe in the knowledge that Safari will warn you if the website suddenly changes, and means you won't waste a huge chunk of your grace period because you went to make coffee or rested your eyes for a little bit too long.

This feature is available on every website, and all you need to do is tap the Three line icon next to the URL bar at the bottom of your screen, then tap the Notify Me option. Safari will ask you to describe the changes, and the frequency at which it should check the page.

At the moment Safari will only check the page hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. So it's not going to be useful for sitting in virtual queues, or furiously trying to pre-order a box of new Pokémon cards before the scalpers buy them all. But it should still prove useful for keeping tabs on periodic changes, such as prices or general web page updates.

Custom Extensions

The one thing I like about web browsing on my laptop, compared to using Chrome on a phone or tablet, is the availability of extensions and browser apps. Those have never really been available on mobile, which always frustrated me. Safari on iOS has offered extensions for a while now, which famously includes the ability to install ad-blockers, password managers and more.

iOS 27 takes it a step further, by letting you create your own custom extensions that are created based on your custom prompts. This feature will either point you towards existing extensions on the App Store, or let you create your own unique extensions. All you need to do is tap the three line icon next to the URL bar, then select the Describe Extension option.

Apple will give you a list of use cases to aid you in figuring out your new extension, or you can simply type whatever you like into the prompt box. It can't do everything, and iOS 27 will not be able to vibe code you an ad-blocker simply because you asked for one. Still it offers a lot more freedom to mess with Safari, either for fun or for your own personal needs.

I did try and turn everything into both Comic Sans and Wingdings, just to see what would happen. Sadly, while Safari was able to change its own default font, the actual result was neither of those options. So clearly the AI needs some work, and hopefully things will be a little different once iOS 27 leaves beta later this year.

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• iOS 27 beta 3 has a hidden feature letting you restore Shortcuts that are missing in action — here's how

If you use Apple's Shortcuts app for a lot of things, you may have come across a bug that seems to delete specific shortcuts from your phone without warning — even if you have iCloud sync switched on. The good news is that those Shortcuts aren't gone for ever, and the better news is that iOS 27 beta 3 just made it easier to restore them.

The latest iOS 27 developer beta comes with a Restore button hidden in the settings for the Shortcuts app. As spotted by iBanks3 over on Reddit, the new beta lets Shortcuts warn you if it detects any shortcuts that aren't present in your library.

Better still, instead of making you jump through various steps to restore old backups or remake those missing shortcuts, you're able to bring them back with the push of a button. Here's what you need to do.

The problem itself is likely caused by some sort of syncing issue with iCloud, though why the shortcuts are backed up and later erased from your device isn't entirely clear. In fact some people have reported either finding duplicates of existing shortcuts, or failing to notice that any had actually disappeared. Which is a very curious state of affairs.

Still, the fact that they can now be restored can only be a good thing. So if you've been wondering what's been going on in the Shortcuts app, and could swear that you had a shortcut that has since vanished, be sure to check in the settings. Some of them may just be hiding on iCloud.

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The desire to disconnect is growing, but finding the right balance can be difficult. Parents face a classic modern dilemma when trying to give their children a safe way to stay in touch without handing over a dopamine-fueled playground.

At the same time, many adults (myself included) are desperately seeking an escape from screen addiction but find that traditional "dumb phones" lack essential modern tools like reliable GPS tracking or banking apps.

You might think the only solution is buying a specialized device or paying for a third-party app. It turns out, the perfect distraction-free solution is probably sitting in your desk drawer right now with an older iPhone.

The eco-system advantage

Apple actually built the ultimate distraction-free phone inside iOS 17, they just didn't advertise it. A feature called Assistive Access, originally designed as an accessibility tool for cognitive disabilities, completely strips away the complex ecosystem of iOS and replaces it with massive, simplified blocks.

The real genius here is how it handles temptation and security. In standard iOS, it is entirely too easy to bypass your own app limits or click web links sent via text message. Under this mode, web links are rendered completely dead text, entirely shutting down that internet loophole.

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It's been just shy of a month since the first iOS 27 developer beta was released, and we're already on the third version of the software. It seems Apple is blasting out updates, fixing issues with the software and unlocking those new capabilities that weren't quite ready for release.

Considering iOS 27 beta 2 was only released two weeks ago, the third beta update doesn't come with enormous changes. But those of you that have access to the developer beta will still notice some things have changed, and formerly-locked off Siri AI features are now readily available.

Here's what's changed in iOS 27 beta 3

iOS 27 developer beta 3: Siri Expressive Voices

The main change in iOS 27 beta 3 is that Apple has finally unlocked Siri's expressive voice feature on compatible iPhones. Those of you with an iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max, which all have 12GB of RAM, will be able to customize and alter the tone and emotional range of Siri AI's voice. Previously this was all grayed out in Siri's settings, and the only option available was Siri's gender.

Now, though, you can make your AI assistant more attuned to you, rather than offering one of the same flat, pre-set voices as everywhere else. However the update between beta 2 and 3 means Siri needs to be redownloaded, which resets the AI to its default settings. Please bear that in mind before you update.

Apple Intelligence in Home

Apple Intelligence in Home is also available with this new update, but what the iOS 27 beta 3 release notes don't tell you is that these features all require a 2TB iCloud+ plan — which costs $10 a month. Previously this was the tier that unlocked unlimited HomeKit Secure Video cameras, so it makes sense that the new AI features would be locked down behind the same paywall.

The accessibility settings now feature a "Live Recognition" section, for managing how this particular feature works. Recognition uses on-device AI to detect and describe things with the camera app, letting you ask questions about what it can see. That's a fantastic feature for those with vision impairments, and this menu lets you adjust how this works — including an option that lets you ask questions via speech or text.

Shortcuts and AirPods Transparency

The Shortcuts app, which added the ability to describe what function you wanted to set up in iOS 27 beta 1, now has the option to choose whether you want to do that or if you'd rather set the whole thing up manually.

If you own AirPods, there's a helpful new features in iOS 27 beta 3. The Adaptive menu in the AirPods app features a slider that lets you customize how much transparency you get vs noise cancelation.

Actually helpful pop-ups

A few informative pop-ups have been added to beta 3, for those of you that aren't diving through the release notes to see what's changed. Apple Maps now tells you that route preferences have moved, and points you to their new home. Apple Intelligence also warns you when you're about to send data to Google's cloud servers, in case you're the kind of person that wants to keep all their AI processing firmly on device.

Other smaller features include a redesigned low-battery indicator, a subtly different wallpaper animation, an updated Reminders icon with Liquid Glass to-do list bullets, and the ability to see cellular network details in the Control Center without disconnecting from Wi-Fi first. Naturally, the update also comes with a bunch of smaller bug fixes as well.

Keep it locked to Tom's Guide for all the latest iOS 27 news and tips.

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Notorious Apple leaker Jon Prosser has taken to YouTube with a pretty detailed breakdown of what he expects we'll see from the iPhone Air 2 next year. Prosser has a reasonable track record when it comes to Apple's plans, and the company has even filed a lawsuit against him for stealing trade secrets.

That doesn't seem to have dissuaded him from posting an eight-minute YouTube video this week outlining what to expect from the iPhone Air 2. Including upgrades like a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera lens on the back of the phone and increased battery capacity.

Firstly, Prosser says the iPhone Air 2 will be launched next spring, alongside the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e. This would lend weight to the theory Apple will split its phone announcements between the fall and the spring. In September, it will be the turn of the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Fold before the Air 2 gets its time in the sun next year. That's at odds with previous rumors Apple could reveal the iPhone Air 2 this year, but I actually think Prosser's argument makes sense.

That would keep the Air 2 as the "premium" option in the trio of new phones announced in the spring, and Prosser believes we could see a $50 price hike over the original. That would give the iPhone Air 2 a starting price of $1,049.

New camera, new processor, new color

Despite not naming any sources and covering himself with the caveats you'd expect for leaks on a product that's still seven months away, Prosser explains the titanium iPhone Air 2 will be "slightly refreshed," but there will be some notable changes.

The most important of which will be the addition of the 48-megapixel ultrawide camera in the top module — something Apple is able to do by reducing the size of the FaceID component. One of the big complaints we had of the current Air when we reviewed it was the solitary rear-facing camera.

Prosser believes the iPhone Air 2 will receive the same A20 processor as the iPhone 18 but miss out on the 2nm A20 Pro chip that's expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Fold. While he doesn't go into details on efficiency improvements, Prosser says the battery improvement will be "definitely noticeable."

When it comes to colors, Apple is expected to keep things pretty basic for the iPhone Air 2. The video states we'll see the standard Space Black, Cloud White and Light Gold, but 2026's Sky Blue will make way for a light purple color that Prosser says is "closer to lavender.”

Are you excited by an iPhone Air 2?

The jury is probably still out on the iPhone Air's long-term prospects as a form factor alongside the standard iPhone, the Pro and the Pro Max. Apple has tried to add a fourth iPhone in the form of the Plus and mini options, and neither of them has managed to last.

In September, it's widely believed that new CEO John Ternus will unveil the company's first foldable iPhone and that could push the Air even further to the sidelines. Reports have already come in that Apple is apparently reducing its planned iPhone Air production.

What are your thoughts on the iPhone Air 2? Does a super-slim iPhone still interest you or is it just a stepping stone to get to a foldable iPhone? Let me know in the comments below. And make sure you vote in the poll at the top of this article!

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Apple is in the midst of testing out iOS 27 for developers, releasing the third version this week. As part of Apple's summer beta cycle, we've actually been able to check out the new Siri AI that was announced at WWDC 26 in early June.

The rebuilt assistant is powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence and new Apple Foundation models, meaning it should be more capable and more deeply integrated across the operating system.

With the caveat that we are still in the beta and things can and will change, these three new features prove the new Siri is finally smarter.

Specifically, I've been impressed by the new Siri's ability to deep search in the Photo library, actual contextual awareness and multi-step cross-app actions.

If you're interested in checking out you can install the developer's beta right now. However, it isn't guaranteed to be stable and could cause issues with your iPhone. The more stable public beta will arrive later this fall.

Photo library Deep Search

Natural language photo searches have been a part of Google's offerings since 2024, though the initial release was unreliable. Meanwhile, Apple's take lets you use Siri AI to describe visual details to find photos in your library.

You could ask Siri, "Hey Siri, find that photo of me holding a wine glass at a winery." The assistant will then populate a variety of images that fit that description.

The exact photo you're looking for may not be at the top of the grid but it'll be much easier to sort through a subsect of your library than trying to remember what day or month you went tasting in wine country.

Context awareness

Contextual awareness has been a pie-in-the-sky promise for AI devices almost from jump. With iOS 27, Siri can "see" what you're looking at on your phone or use your camera to understand your surroundings.

For example, say you want to copy some text from a blog post or Instagram, you can summon Siri and say something like, "Copy the caption in this post" or "Copy the text from this article."

You don't need to highlight and copy; Siri will understand what you're looking at and do it for you.

Or with visual intelligence, you can use Siri AI to tell you what you see in the real world, like a plant or a toy. It's similar to the capabilities in Google Lens, which uses your Android's camera to kick off searches or find information.

Multi-step Cross-App functions

This is where the promise of AI on your iPhone truly shines and makes it seem like Siri AI is actually smart.

Siri AI pulls all the features mentioned above and others to act as a fluid AI agent across your phone. Instead of doing one task at a time, now Siri AI can do multiple steps across different apps.

For example, you can ask Siri to search in your email for an event, add the event to your calendar, and provide driving directions. Siri will give you a summary of the actions.

Right now, this function is limited to native iPhone apps like Calendar, Maps, and Photos. However, third-party developers are already working on similar integrations and the feature will expand between now and launch and beyond.

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TV shows on Apple TV are finally catching up with the movies as Apple is reportedly rolling out free 4K upgrades for purchases. At least 49 shows have been upgraded to 4K SDR in the Apple TV app.

The news comes from Apple TV enthusiast Sigmund Judge on X, who first spotted the update. The current list includes 49 TV shows, including popular shows like "Mad Men," "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" and "RuPaul's Drag Race UK."

The upgraded shows have been upgraded in the US, UK and maybe other regions, you'll need to check your library.

Apple has been offering 4K upgrades for movies purchased in Apple TV since at least 2017 when the first Apple TV 4K streaming box launched. The upgrades pushed movies to 4K and HDR for free. Later the company added Dolby Atmos, HDR10+ and 3D 4K.

Here's the current list:

• Aerial Australia
• Aftertaste S1
• American Magik S1
• Auto Exotica S2
• The Basement Talks S1
• Black, Brilliant, and Bold S1
• Blossoms Shanghai S1
• Bong Zombies S1
• Building Nations S1
• Car & Country Quest S1
• Changing of the Gods S1
• Chasing the Tide S1
• Claire-ity S1
• Clash of Dynasties: St. Edward vs Walsh Jesuit
• The Coroner's Assistant S1
• Drink: A Look Inside the Glass S1
• The Envoy, Pilot
• The Eternal White S1
• Extreme Airport Africa S2
• Founder S1
• Gatherings S1
• Gentle and Lowly Video Study S1
• Guerrera S1
• Gus Plus Us S1
• Heated Rivalry S1
• Honor Guard S1
• Hunting to Save the Rhinos S1
• The Hunting Wives S1
• Ice Airport Alaska S5
• Killer Whales S2
• Legacy Makers S1
• Mad Men S1-7
• Missionary: Obeying the Great Commission S1
• My Name is Anxiety S1
• Office Joe S1
• Perfect Sweat S1
• Q: Into the Storm
• The Religion Business and the Nonprofit Goliath S1
• Rich Africans S1
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK S5
• The RVers S3, 4
• Selling Superman S1
• Sexpectations S1
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S1
• That’s Wine S1
• Third Shift
• Tractor Ted S3
• The Twilight Zone (Reboot) S1
• The Wingfeather Saga S2

As a reminder, these are for purchased shows in the Apple TV app/iTunes Store.

Have you noticed any other shows upgraded to 4K in your Apple Account? Let us know in the comments.

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Sorry, iPhone Ultra. It looks like Samsung is beating you to the punch.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 launch event is coming up fast, with reports suggesting that Galaxy Unpacked could happen on July 22. But there's still time for things to leak, and the latest news about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series teases one of the upgrades that could help it fight back against Apple's first foldable.

According to the leaker Ice Universe, the hinge on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series is "noticeably different from previous generations." This change has apparently been made to improve the look of the crease with Samsung reportedly making the folding action "more decisive."

The new design is supposed to offer a "significant improvement in crease control," with Ice Universe claiming that Samsung has reached "the top level in the industry." This means that the crease visibility is on par with the Oppo Find N6, a foldable that's been praised for how discreet the display crease actually is.

The downside is that the new hinge apparently doesn't offer the same level of precision as it did on previous models. This means holding it at specific angles isn't as easy as it used to be. So those of you that took advantage of Samsung's Flex mode may not appreciate the upcoming upgrade as much as everyone else.

Why this matters ahead of iPhone Ultra launch

According to reports, Apple is focusing on four key selling points where the foldable iPhone Ultra is concerned. One is the display's lack of visible crease, a design detail that Apple has reportedly been very particular about during the development process.

So what happens when Samsung, easily the biggest foldable phone maker outside of China, is able to accomplish the same thing before the iPhone Ultra is released? Well, it means the iPhone Ultra is just a little bit less special, and Apple is going to have emphasize other selling points.

It's also worth mentioning that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, formerly known as the Z Fold Wide, comes in a new form factor that seemingly emulates that of the iPhone Ultra. It's shorter and wider than the Z Fold 8 Ultra (the successor to the Z Fold 7), and could give prospective iPhone Ultra buyers one less reason to buy Apple's foldable.

Of course, the one thing Samsung can't do is make an iPhone. That's a uniquely Apple undertaking, and it means there will always be a group of people that are out of its reach. Just today we reported on analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting that the iPhone UItra will immediately sell out during the pre-order period even at a $2,300 to $2,500 price.

With Samsung Unpacked tipped for July 22, we don't have long to see what the Galaxy Z Fold 8 truly brings to the table in Samsung's foldable fight against Apple.

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A reference to what is "almost certainly" a new pair of AirPods has been spotted in the code for Apple's iOS 27 beta 2 by developer Sam Henri Gold — which when you line up the features with recent leaks, it matches up with the much rumored AirPods Ultra.

The code includes a mention of a system prompt for a product codenamed B790 to work with Visual Intelligence. While Henri Gold initially assumed this was referring to Apple's long-rumored smart glasses, the team at MacRumors pointed out the AirPods Pro 3 were codenamed B788. So, he revised his finding, saying that "B790 is almost certainly the new AirPods and not glasses."

Why a pair of AirPods would need access to Visual Intelligence is down to another persistent rumor we've been hearing for some time: the next AirPods may have integrated cameras. These won't be designed for taking pictures or video like the Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, but instead they'll act as visual input for Siri.

The new earbuds, dubbed AirPods Ultra, are believed to be dropping in 2027 according to an earlier report from Bloomberg. In practice, users wearing them will be able to ask Siri about their surroundings without having to use their iPhone camera to provide context. Reportedly, the design will remain the same as the current AirPods Pro apart from small LEDs that display when the earbuds are capturing information from the outside world.

The timeline makes sense. Apple revealed the AI-powered Siri this spring at WWDC and aims to follow up with the iPhone Fold / Ultra in September. Next year, the company celebrates the 20th anniversary of the iPhone and is believed to be planning an ecosystem of AI products to accompany it.

But is development actually happening?

From that above snippet of news and the previous reports from the last few months, you'd assume the AirPods Ultra to be a done deal. However, over the weekend one particular leaker claimed development has been put on ice.

A leaker known as 'Kosutami' has taken to X with a blunt post saying the AirPods with cameras have been "suspended." We don't get any reasoning or proof of this, but the tweet has done enough to get mentioned in a variety of news posts — including this one.

I, for one, find it tough to imagine Apple would abandon a project like this. The company will be all too aware of discomfort from some consumers about cameras on wearables.

But if Apple sticks to its privacy-centric messaging and is able to meaningfully improve Siri's capabilities with this add-on, it would seem a logical next step. We already know AirPods are one of Apple's best-selling and most popular products, so using them to leverage Siri's abilities is a no-brainer providing the public gets on board with it.

Of course, all this is very early speculation since we're still around nine months out from spring 2027 and 14 away from next year's iPhone 20 September event. That's a long time to wait for the arrival of the AirPods Ultra and more than long enough for Apple's engineering team to get ahead of any problems or roadblocks. Like how are the cameras supposed to work for people with long hair?

At any rate, "suspended" and "cancelled" are two entirely different things. But let me know below if you think AI cameras in AirPods are a good idea. And in the meantime, you can actually get the non-camera equipped AirPods Pro 3 at a slight discount at Amazon right now.

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A lot of us here at Tom's Guide are rather excited to see the launch of the foldable iPhone Ultra later this year, since it's going to break all new ground for Apple's smartphones. But it sounds like we may have to wait a little longer for the phone to actually arrive, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting that launch may follow the same pattern as the iPhone X.

For those that don't remember the launch of the 10th anniversary iPhone, let me remind you. The iPhone X was announced at Apple's September 2017 event, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. But Apple didn't release them all at the same time, with the iPhone 8 series arriving on September 22 and the iPhone X releasing on November 3.

In the case of the iPhone X, Kuo notes that the delayed release was due to the fact "iPhone X inventory had not reached the level required for a September launch." The iPhone Ultra will likely be in a similar situation, especially since Kuo predicts Apple will ship between 0.5 and 1 million units in Q3 2026.

That's pretty low compared to the 7-8 million total units the analyst predicts Apple will produce, presumably for the next 12 months. It's also less than 10% of the reported ten million units Nikkei Asia said last week Apple was preparing to ship.

With all that in mind, Kuo believes the iPhone Ultra may not be available for pre-order until Q4 — and certainly won't be released in Q3.

iPhone Ultra wait times

Kuo's discussions with carriers and other phone sellers suggest that demand for the iPhone Ultra will be strong — even if the price is as high as $2,500. For that reason, he believes that the foldable may "sell out immediately", with delivery times hitting four to six weeks shortly after pre-orders open.

That said, long wait times tend to happen every year with certain iPhone models. Last year saw iPhone 17 Pro Max wait times hit several weeks, so it's no surprise that the iPhone Ultra might face the same issues.

Even if I'm unsure that Apple will be able to sell 10 million units with a $2,500 price tag, there's no doubt that there will be early demand for the phone. Kuo predicts scalpers could attempt to sell the Ultra for 50-100% above its official price tag in the short term. Considering how expensive the Ultra is rumored to be, the last thing you should be doing is paying even more when you may just need to wait a few weeks for stock levels to normalize

The question I have is whether that demand will continue as we arrive into 2027, and the rumored launch of the iPhone 18 closes in. According to Kuo we won't know just how popular the foldable iPhone will be until later on this year, or early next year. By then, early demand will have eased, and the supply of phones should have improved.

We still expect the iPhone Ultra to launch at the September Apple event, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. But any of you hoping to pick up the foldable may end up waiting a couple more months to get your hands on one. Just make sure you don't let the hype get the better of you, and make the foolish mistake of paying more than you need to.

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This September, Apple looks set to introduce a brand new flagship iPhone to the world. Previously dubbed the iPhone Fold as a placeholder name, people have coalesced around iPhone Ultra as likely branding for Apple’s most expensive handset to date.

But that high price of entry doesn’t make it unambiguously the best iPhone you can buy, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have plenty going for it. Here are five key differences between the two handsets ahead of their September launch.

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Form factor

The iPhone Ultra will be Apple’s first foldable device, making it quite a change from the iPhones that have gone before it.

For its debut foldable, Apple looks to offer a similar design to handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and OnePlus Open. That is to say, a regular-looking smartphone that opens up to reveal an iPad mini-sized canvas on the inside, to aid productivity and improve media consumption.

Apple is said to be making changes in iOS 27 to compensate for this, with iPad-like app layouts and side-by-side apps for multitasking. Naturally, this will be exclusive to the iPhone Ultra.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max, meanwhile, will be far more like its predecessors: a single 6.8-inch screen for a traditional iPhone experience.

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Camera performance

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is one of the best camera phones you can buy, and the 18 Pro Max looks set to follow suit. While we’re expecting the same trio of 48MP lenses as on the previous model, Apple is widely tipped to be adding a variable rate aperture, giving photographers more flexibility for their shots by allowing them to adjust how much light enters the lens.

The iPhone Ultra may or may not get this feature, but design leaks show a device with just two rear cameras. The telephoto lens — a mainstay of recent Pro iPhones — is reportedly missing, which will make the foldable considerably weaker when it comes to taking long-range shots, no matter how solid its two other lenses are. For photographers, this may end up offering similar performance to a regular non-Pro iPhone.

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Expected battery life

Historically, foldable phones have sometimes struggled when it comes to battery life. A combination of larger screens and less space for the power cell has led to weaker performance than traditional handsets. That sounds like it will be less of a problem here, with a battery of between 5,000 mAh and 5,500 mAh predicted.

Pro Max devices are renowned for their stamina, too, however. In our battery test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max went nearly 18 hours without needing to charge its 4,823 mAh cell. Rumor has it that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be even better, with a reported 5,425 mAh battery powering things (or 5,235 mAh for models with physical SIM slots).

Depending on where exactly the iPhone Ultra lands and how demanding the internal screen is, power users may still want to opt for the traditional iPhone if they need to go long periods without access to a USB-C lead.

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Face ID or Touch ID?

Touch ID — Apple’s fingerprint sensor authentication technology — is barely used on iPhones anymore. Last seen on iPhone SE devices, it mostly lives on in iPads nowadays, but it’s reportedly set to return for iPhone Ultra security instead of Face ID. The analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the challenges inherent in fitting Face ID into the thin frame of a foldable are just too great to overcome — at least in a first-generation device.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max, meanwhile, will continue to shun the fingerprint reader in favor of confirming your identity with the front-facing camera and Face ID. It’s a pretty smooth way of logging in that has been fine-tuned over multiple devices since its introduction with the iPhone X back in 2017.

Which you favor is largely down to personal preference, though regular glove wearers may find the return to Touch ID on the iPhone Ultra more fiddly to use.

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Price

Pro Max buyers are used to paying top dollar for their iPhones — especially if they choose to upgrade the internal storage. And it looks like the spiraling cost of RAM will make the price rise especially brutally this time, with talk of a $1,399 starting price touted, $200 more than last year’s phone.

Yet the iPhone 18 Pro Max will still be a value option compared to the iPhone Ultra. The same report suggests that Apple’s first foldable could come in at a massive $2,500. For context, that’s $500 more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 — though the Z Fold 8 will likely close the gap when it’s revealed at Samsung Unpacked later this month (the hardware pricing market forces are affecting everyone, after all).

iPhone Ultra vs iPhone 18 Pro Max: Outlook

Beyond this, as far as we know, the two handsets will be pretty similar. They’ll even offer similar performance levels, as the iPhone Ultra is tipped to offer the same vapor chamber cooling as the regular handset (the iPhone Air without vapor cooling struggled when things heated up, despite using the same A19 Pro chipset).

So ultimately, it will come down to priorities for you. Do you value photography and price over novelty and big-screen multitasking? If so, at this stage, it looks like the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be the handset for you. But if you like the idea of carrying an iPad mini and iPhone around with you in one device, and don’t mind paying a premium early adopter’s tax for the privilege, Apple’s first foldable could be worth the price of entry.

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Way back at the end of March, I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to test the new AirPods Max 2. With an all-new H2 chip, improved ANC, and a more vibrant sound, they were (and still are) some of the best headphones I've ever had the pleasure of using.

But not everything came new and improved. Much to everyone's chagrin, Apple made zero upgrades to the design or battery on the AirPods Max 2. This decision was a little baffling, if you ask me. The most common complaints with the predecessor? Poor battery life and extremely heavy weight. So why didn't Apple fix these for the "upgraded" version?

Alas, this is still a mystery, but three months later, I've spent a lot of time with the new AirPods Max 2. I've been using them as I'd use my normal headphones — at work, on the bus, at the gym, out and about — and I'm intimately familiar with them now.

Sound quality? Connectivity? Style? Top marks all round

The AirPods Max 2 are the best-sounding headphones at this price point, and I'm sorry to say this, but there's very little competition. While the Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($449) have superior ANC and comfort, the sound is too bassy and muddy for my personal sonic palate. And while the Sony WH-1000XM6 ($459) are, again, much comfier and have better call quality, there's some vibrancy missing in the sound for me.

But the AirPods Max 2 sound perfect. I honestly could not improve them. They sound so good that I forget I'm wearing headphones and feel like the music is traveling directly from the artist's mouth into my brain. The treble is clear and vibrant, the mids are balanced, detailed, and expansive, and the bass is well-rounded and rich without overpowering soft details. Yep, I have nothing bad to say about the sound quality at all. It's my perfect signature.

Connectivity is another thing I take really seriously. I want my headphones to move with me, from my phone to my laptop, and back to my phone again. Thankfully, because I have an iPhone and a MacBook, the AirPods Max 2 do just that. I can listen on all my Apple devices without having to fiddle with my settings, and this is a luxury I can't live without now.

Last, and also kind of least, is the style. I'm not the kind of person who will buy headphones purely for aesthetics, but it helps when they're pretty. Thankfully, the AirPods Max 2 are supremely pretty. The anodized aluminum ear cups are super premium and the minimalist, sleek Apple design is so simple yet effective. No egregious touch controls (unlike Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony WH-1000XM6) and a weight-bearing mesh headband make these my perfect headphones.

Sorry, but I'm an AirPods Max 2 apologist. I feel like Apple designed them just for me.

But those "AI features"? I've not touched them once

Some people may disagree with me here, and that's fine. Life would be boring if we all shared the same opinions! But I'm not the kind of person who wants, or needs, AI in her headphones. I've gone my whole life without having a (disobedient, cloth-eared) personal assistant living in my headphones, so why would I need one now?

The Live Translation feature? Sure, I've used it for fun. I've used it after my Duolingo lessons to check I've got my pronunciation right. I used to live in South Korea, so I've used it to test my (dwindling) Korean skills.

But I've not used it for its intended purpose, and I really don't think I will.

The same can be said for the "improved" Siri integration. Siri is a glorified egg timer at this point, and I just use my brain instead of asking Siri. The likelihood is, she wouldn't listen anyway. Girl's got serious obedience issues — she needs military school, stat.

Of course, don't take my negativity as gospel. You may love having these features. Maybe you're always on vacation and need to communicate with people who don't speak your language, or you're super busy and need to check your calendar hands-free. But that's just not me.

These features are great if you need them, but don't ditch your non-smart headphones if you're anything like me.

But they're not for everyone

There are three types of people who should not buy the AirPods Max 2.

1. No iPhone? No MacBook? No iPad? Don't get the AirPods Max 2.
2. Can't drop $500 on headphones? Don't get the AirPods Max 2.
3. Want "audiophile" sound? Don't get the AirPods Max 2.

There's very little point in investing in extremely expensive headphones if you don't have the ecosystem they're built for. Even though you can use AirPods Max 2 with an Android phone, you don't get the full experience. You can't customize any settings or take advantage of the AI smart features.

If you have an Android, I would recommend getting the Sony WH-1000XM6 instead, which are some of the best headphones you can get, period.

Again, if you can't afford $500 on headphones (me neither), then you shouldn't buy the AirPods Max 2. To put it kindly, they're overpriced. I would go for the Soundcore Space One Pro, JBL Live 780NC, or the CMF Headphone Pro. At $199, $249, and $99 respectively, these headphones sound good, look cool, and won't break your bank.

And, finally, arguably the touchiest of all subjects — sound quality. Don't get me wrong, I love how the AirPods Max 2 sound. They scratch that audio itch perfectly. But I know Apple's sound signature can upset some people. In that case, you should invest more in headphones like the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 or the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. Both headphones offer superior sound — and an even steeper price tag to match.

Am I going to keep using the AirPods Max 2? 100%. They are my perfect headphones. As someone who takes connectivity, ANC, and sound quality seriously (everything else I can take or leave), the AirPods Max 2 are ideal. They automatically switch between my MacBook and my iPhone and they block out every speck of sound. Of course, the best part is the sound quality — Apple's sound signature must have been designed solely for me. It's everything I want and more.

Even so, I know the AirPods Max 2 are overpriced, and that battery life makes them a pretty controversial product. But what do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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It's no secret that phones have been pretty stagnant for the past several years. In fact, the last time phones started doing something truly original was eight years ago, when the first foldable phones hit the scene, and even that was an exception rather than the norm. Incremental updates are just part and parcel of the phone industry.

In recent years, phone companies have been trying to offer a different solution: AI.

Rather than offering major upgrades to the phones themselves, it's all about the newest AI features and capabilities that are on offer. While I will be the first to admit that software is just as important as hardware, it's starting to feel like phone makers are using AI as a crutch to cover for their own weak upgrades — and I'm rather sick of it.

Considering flagship phones cost several hundred dollars, and over a thousand in many cases, we need more than just a few more flashy AI-centric features that may or may not be useful.

Overreliance on AI is lazy

Yes, I get it, having a strong AI means the features on your phone are bigger and better than they otherwise could have been. In theory, features like Samsung Now Nudge or Google Lens wouldn't be as effective if there weren't an AI model working in the background to analyze all the relevant data and figure out exactly what the user wants and needs.

But this doesn't change the fact that AI seems to be the only thing any phone company is willing to talk about right now. The emphasis does not seem to be on making better phones; it's about filling them up with as many AI features as possible at the expense of other advancements.

Take, for instance, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It is, without any doubt, one of the best phones you can buy right now. But its hardware hasn't changed all that much from the Galaxy S25 Ultra that was released last year. The biggest upgrades are the addition of the Privacy Display and the increased wired and wireless charging speeds. But everything else? The differences are so minor that the majority of people won't notice any difference.

The same was true of the Pixel 10 Pro. The phone did come packing Qi2 wireless charging, complete with full magnetic support; the rest of the phone is only marginally different from the Pixel 9 Pro. The camera quality is identical, battery life has barely improved, and the Tensor G5 is honestly not that impressive.

What both these phones have in common is how much their respective makers invested in the additional AI features. There were a lot of them, too, ranging from 100x Super Res Zoom to a more advanced Circle to Search. Potentially very useful things to have on your phone, but they aren't exactly major selling points. Certainly not when the hardware itself hasn't really improved by all that much.

AI features rarely stay exclusive for long

It's also worth noting that AI features that arrive on new phones have a habit of working their way back to older devices as well. There are limits to this, and there are AI features that require a certain kind of hardware to function properly — such as Siri AI's Expressive Voice feature, which is only available if your iPhone has at least 12GB of RAM.

But there have still been plenty of instances where older devices get access to new AI features. Often, that means there's some sort of wait, but if you're patient, you will still get some, if not all, of the newest AI features on an older device.

Samsung's One UI 8.5 update is a good example of that, removing Galaxy S26 exclusivity from a bunch of AI features like Call Screening, Creative Studio and Audio Magic eraser. That allowed older devices, notably the Galaxy S25, to gain access to those features with a delay of just three months. Some features took a little longer to arrive, such as Priority Notifications and File Summaries, which landed as part of a security patch just last month.

I'll admit, some of the biggest features like the more advanced Circle to Search and Now Nudge are still exclusive to Galaxy S26 phones, so backward compatibility is never fully guaranteed. But if there's a precedent for bringing new AI features to older devices, then instigating an AI-first policy on future models may not be the success phone makers hoped it would be.

AI has limits, and RAMageddon proves it

The other big problem with hedging all your bets on AI is that we're starting to see exactly how much of a financial cost that has. It doesn't matter whether AI features are designed to run on your device or through a cloud server; they rely on a specific level of hardware to operate.

The problem is, the ongoing AI boom means that this hardware has suddenly skyrocketed in price, and that means the price of your phone has to increase to offset the extra costs. So far, the smartphone industry hasn't been hit too hard by these effects, but we have still seen a variety of price hikes — such as those affecting the Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra.

On top of that, we have seen Apple raise prices on its computing hardware, and all the predictions point to price hikes on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max when they arrive in September — and could rise as high as $200 as a result. All because the cost of RAM and storage is now significantly more than it was a year ago, because of the demand caused by the recent AI push.

Suddenly, phone companies have a choice: either increase the price of their devices and risk the wrath of their customers, or downgrade the hardware and limit the on-device AI capabilities. It's very much a no-win situation, caused in part by the emphasis on creating "AI phones" and focusing on artificial intelligence above all else.

Bottom line: Phones need to be a good mix of everything

I go to a lot of events featuring new phones, including some of the biggest phone launches of the year. The one common factor they all have is the dominance of AI, especially in the premium models. I've never made any secret of my general dislike for AI, especially on phones, but the fact it keeps stealing so much focus really grinds my gears.

Can including AI make your smartphone experience better? Absolutely. Whether it's using computational photography to improve camera performance or adding various editing tools that fix those bothersome issues with the final product, there's definitely a place for AI on your phones. But it shouldn't come at the expense of everything else.

AI may be the new hip trend in the tech industry, with every company trying to capitalize in any way it can, but it shouldn't come at the expense of everything else. What I'm saying is, I'd like to see phone companies start to emphasize more than just how much AI they can cram into their phones with each passing upgrade. I want phone makers to start caring about the hardware these devices are packaged into, and how they can make it better with each passing year.

I'm sure plenty of other people will agree that being asked to pay hundreds of dollars for a brand-new phone is more palatable if you can actually see the improvement over your existing model.

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With smartphone prices creeping higher thanks to rising component costs — a trend now commonly known as "RAMageddon", the best phone upgrade you can make right now might be the one you already own.

You don’t need to drop $1,000 on a new device just because your current one is feeling a little sluggish or losing battery quickly. By building a few simple, regular disciplines into your routine, you can claw back storage, speed up performance, and protect your hardware from degradation.

Here are 8 easy habits to keep your phone running like new for years to come.

Reclaim your storage and memory

A maxed-out hard drive and cluttered RAM are the primary reasons older phones start to lag. Clean them up with these three habits.

Protect your battery from degradation

Lithium-ion batteries naturally degrade over time, but excessive heat speeds up the process drastically. Avoid the heat with these three rules.

Manage your hardware and software

The final line of defense is ensuring your phone can physically survive a drop and that your software isn't outgrowing your hardware.

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July officially kicks off what I like to call “the summer of smartwatch launches.” Samsung tends to get things started with a new slate of Galaxy Watches toward the end of the month, then Google answers with fresh Pixel Watches sometime in August, before Apple closes things out in early September with the latest Apple Watch debuts.

This schedule is, of course, not set in stone, but based on the recent past, it seems likely that the summer of 2026 will look a lot like 2025 and 2024, in terms of launch timing.

While an Apple Watch Ultra 4 and/or a replacement for the budget-friendly Apple Watch SE 3 are far from certain, we’ll almost certainly lay eyes on the Apple Watch Series 12 in just over two months. After all, Cupertino has shown off a new flagship Apple Watch series every single year for the past 11 straight years.

As a smartwatch reviewer with no shortage of Apple Watch 12 rumors to go off of, these are the three upgrades — that actually have a chance of coming to fruition — I’m hoping for most, plus one I desperately don’t want to happen.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.1: Touch ID

Punching in a passcode on the Apple Watch 11’s modest-sized display is a pain in the butt, which is why I keep the security feature turned off, even though I know better. One way to improve things? Add Touch ID support.

Not only would Touch ID make unlocking the smartwatch a breeze, but it could also be used to confirm purchases via Apple Pay and/or app downloads.

According to a report in Macworld, Touch ID on the Apple Watch Series 12 is a real possibility. Then again, separate leaks suggest that Face ID could also be in the cards. Both of these upgrades would require additional onboard hardware, in the form of either an under-the-display fingerprint scanner or front-facing camera. I'd ultimately be pleased with either.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.2: A brighter display

The Apple Watch Series 11 display maxes out at a respectable 2,000 nits of brightness, which is enough output to view the screen in most lighting conditions. However, both the Google Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 boast displays with 3,000 nits of max brightness, and their successors might push that output even further.

To both stay competitive and to ensure optimal viewability, even when lounging on white sand beaches under clear blue skies, I’m hoping the Series 12 at least matches the screen brightness of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the above-mentioned watches, 3,000 nits.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.3: AI-powered Siri

It’s not even close: Google’s Gemini AI voice assistant for Pixel Watches and select Samsung Galaxy Watches is a zillion times better than the same-old Siri that’s been offered in every Apple Watch for more than a decade.

When I reviewed the Pixel Watch 4, I was genuinely impressed by the onboard AI assistant’s ability to answer genuinely complex questions with helpful, accurate replies.

Of course, we know Apple has partnered with Google to power Siri 2.0 with Gemini, and we've already had a taste of what that looks like on iPhone. The question is, will this be ready in time for the fall? I sure hope so, particularly if it debuts alongside a new dedicated gesture control to wake it, similar to Google's "raise to wake" gesture for Pixel Watch 4.

Apple Watch 12 — what I don’t want: A redesigned band system

One Apple Watch 12 “upgrade” rumor I’m hoping doesn’t come to pass, though it's been widely reported on, is a redesigned case with a new system for attaching straps. Apple has used the same band system ever since the original Apple Watch debuted.

One of the nicest things about upgrading from an older Apple Watch to a newer model is the ability to bring your band along with you, assuming you're sticking with a similar case size.

For example, I’ve got four or five favorite Apple Watch bands, and I’d be seriously annoyed if none of them worked on the Series 12.

Apple Watch Series 12: What do you want?

So, now that you know my three biggest Apple Watch Series 12 wishes, I’m curious to hear your thoughts. What are you most hoping to see in the next flagship Apple Watch model? Let me know in the comments or survey below.

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Scams are unfortunately everywhere, and it doesn't matter how clued in you might be, you can't be vigilant 100% of the time — and it only takes one lapse in concentration for the scammers to win. Thankfully our tech is stepping in to offer some extra protection, and iOS 27 is set to make it easier to be notified if you're about to be scammed

Apple is introducing a new framework called "Trust Insights" in iOS 27, and it's designed to warn apps that you may be falling victim to a social engineering scam. The framework is designed to run "mostly on-device" with the ability to analyze “interaction patterns, timing, context, and basic sensor data.”

If the framework detects that the user may be getting coached through a scam, Trust Insights will assign a risk level (medium or high), which will allow apps to add warnings, delays or implement additional levels of verification.

That last part sounds particularly ingenious to me. Like any kind of unsolicited caller, scammers are usually working from some kind of script, as soon as things go off into unfamiliar territory they may have to start improvising. That makes their job harder, and gives users more of a chance to figure out that something isn't right.

How Trust Insights works

The problem is that social engineering scams are much harder to automatically detect, because there's no kind of unauthorized access going on. The user is the one doing those actions, even if they're being coached by someone on the other end of a phone call. That's why the Trust Insights framework needs to be able to analyze what's going on.

Apple has confirmed that the framework doesn't look at the contents of messages, emails or photos. Instead it analyzes the behavioral signals on your devices, and then discards the underlying data before sending a single output value to an Apple server.

That value can then be combined with information on your Apple account, checking for unusual activity, before making a final decision on whether a scam may be occurring. The analysis itself will cover five key categories:

• Payment: Including assets, content money or in-game purchases
• Account: Updating your account details or security information
• Resources use: Requests that involve costly or constrained infrastructure, such as AI inference
• Communication: Sending messages. submitting forms and signing documents
• Other: a broad category designed as a fallback for anything that doesn't fit the other four categories.

Apple did say that users can switch off Trust Insights in the settings menu, but there may be a cooldown period to stop scammers coaching users into switching it off. Which makes sense, considering that's the first thing a savvy scammer is going to ask you to do.

Obviously this is going to rely on apps implementing the framework before Trust Insights can do you much good. That said, with the rate at which scams are increasing, and how clever they are at duping even the smartest of people into handing over their money, any extra protection our devices can offer is a good thing. You can learn more about Trust Insights on the Apple Developer site.

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