After previous warnings, Apple issued a final email this week to customers using its Home app: Upgrade to the latest architecture by February 10 or risk losing control of your smart home devices. Well, that doesn’t sound good.
When it comes to the best smartphone battery life, nothing beats the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That’s the judgement of a comparison of 35 smartphones from a range of companies. But the Apple model that comes in second might surprise you.
Not a single Samsung model showed up on the Top 10 list, but OnePlus did fairly well.
Apple currently weighs the option of using a more durable display protection solution for its first foldable iPhone, according to a new report. The tougher film would offer better scratch resistance than what Samsung currently uses in its Galaxy Z Fold and other devices.
Anker Solix adds an ambitious new entry to the residential energy storage market with the Solix E10 whole-home backup system, the company said Wednesday. Anker’s direct challenge to established players like Tesla’s Powerwall, the new system offers homeowners multiple ways to maintain power during outages while potentially reducing energy costs.
Logitech’s latest gaming headset aims to deliver premium audio performance without the premium price tag, the company said Tuesday. The G325 Lightspeed wireless gaming headset enters a competitive gaming audio market at just $79.99, positioning itself as an affordable alternative to higher-priced options — while maintaining Logitech G series quality.
Update: Apple Arcade subscribers can now get access to one of gaming’s most legendary franchises — Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition, arriving on the service Thursday. It’s a first for Apple Arcade, though it joins some other civ- and sim- game options on the App Store.
And other new titles join it at the same time on Apple Arcade: the Retrocade collection of classic arcade games, the whimsical adventure Felicity’s Door and the I Love Hue Too+ puzzle game.
Apple seeded the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to beta testers on Wednesday, which means anyone eager to get their hands on it should mark February 11 on their calendar.
The macOS Tahoe 26.3 Release Candidate also just went out, which should please Mac users. It means a MacBook Pro with faster processor options can soon hit the market.
iPad shipments worldwide shot up a whopping 16.5% in the last quarter of 2025, according to a market analysis firm. Apple set a new record — it shipped more tablets in Q4 than in any previous quarter.
Not only does iPad outsell every other competitor, but Apple’s tablet also beat its top four rivals’ combined shipments last quarter.
Oddly enough, Apple CarPlay could make its way to the water in the coming years. Sea-Doo confirms it’s look at the technology for future high-end personal watercraft models akin to Jet Skis, according to a new report.
The new Xcode 26.3 release candidate introduces support for agentic coding, Apple said Wednesday. It allows developers to work with AI coding agents like Anthropic’s Claude Agent and OpenAI’s Codex directly within the development environment.
“Agentic coding supercharges productivity and creativity, streamlining the development workflow so developers can focus on innovation,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations.
Even vibe-coding beginners will have an easier time of it because Xcode can now build apps pretty much by itself, some devs say.
The free Apple Sports app just added golf to its growing list of supported sports.
Golfers can get live scores on their iPhone for all official PGA Tour and LPGA Tour events, including the majors. And the fun starts this weekend with the PGA’s WM Phoenix Open.
Apple TV showcased its ambitious 2026 slate Wednesday at an exclusive press event, revealing a packed calendar of new and returning series, original films and expanded live sports coverage including Formula 1 racing, Major League Soccer and Friday Night Baseball.
The streamer plans to release new originals every week in 2026, headlined by the highly anticipated fourth season of Ted Lasso this summer. Watch trailers below.
A conspiracy theory argues that Apple does everything it can to force people to buy new iPhones. That’s Grade A certified bullplop, and I can prove it. How? Apple recently released iOS updates for every single iPhone going back to 2013.
If you still own a 12-year-old iPhone 5s, it just got an upgrade to iOS 12.5.8, so you can continue to use it for years to come. So tell us again how Apple hates old iPhones?
Airversa’a new QliQ Smart Button, a Thread-enabled controller designed specifically for the Apple Home ecosystem, lets you launch up to nine automations or scenes through its three buttons, according to the company.
There’s good news Tuesday for those excited about the first MacBook Pro with an OLED display: A new report pegs the laptop’s launch for this fall. Some previous leaks indicated the device might not reach customers until next year.
Beyond the OLED screen — which should make the display noticeably better-looking — the 2026 MacBook Pro is rumored to feature a significant redesign, including a touchscreen.
Apple’s satellite connectivity journey began as a lifesaving emergency feature with the iPhone 14 in 2022. But the company’s ambitions go far beyond distress signals to more advanced iPhone satellite features. Experts see a dramatic expansion of satellite capabilities coming to transform how we think about smartphone connectivity. iPhone 18 in 2026 and later handsets could see satellite features evolve from emergency backup to everyday uses.
A new leak out of China purports to detail the iPhone Fold’s design. The leaker known as Instant Digital says the foldable iPhone will feature a Touch ID power button, as seen on the iPad Air and iPad mini.
The device will supposedly feature a black rear camera plateau, housing two cameras, a microphone and the flash.
Apple Music rolled out the red carpet Monday for Bad Bunny as the Puerto Rican superstar prepares to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. So here’s your chance to get to know Bad Bunny before the Super Bowl with a variety of special programming.
When Apple entered the artificial intelligence race, the company faced a fundamental challenge: how to deliver powerful AI capabilities while maintaining its long-standing commitment to user privacy. The result is Apple Intelligence, a system designed around a simple but revolutionary premise — your personal data should work for you without leaving your control. Basically, that’s how privacy shapes Apple Intelligence features on “the edge,” meaning the furthest reaches of a computer network, where user devices dwell.
Before Apple even launches its first folding iPhone, the company is reportedly exploring a follow-up model with a clamshell-like form factor, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola Razr.
There’s no guarantee that Apple will launch such a model. But for now, it’s at least under consideration.
There’s tremendous anticipation for a MacBook Pro upgraded with faster M5 Pro or M5 Max processors, but the laptop did not launch this week, despite eager speculation that it would. And we need to be patient because we’re likely to continue waiting well into February and maybe beyond. A critical feature apparently isn’t ready yet: macOS Tahoe 26.3.
How much would you pay for a check signed by both Apple co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak? Factor in that it is Apple check No. 1. Got a figure in mind? Now double it. Your guess is probably still less than a collector paid for that item in a recent auction.
It went for a stonking $2.4 million — believed to be the highest price ever paid for a signed check at public auction.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The second-gen AirTag finally arrives, and it packs some pretty awesome upgrades — although you’d never know by looking at it!
We discuss all the reasons we love AirTags in general, and Cult of Mac writer Ed Hardy joins us for his review of Apple’s upgraded tracking tag.
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
For millions of Apple Watch owners, the Hypertension Notifications Feature available on recent models is a big leap in wearable health monitoring. It promises to alert users to potential high blood pressure before it leads to serious health problems. But how reliable are the alerts, and what should Apple users realistically expect?
I’ve had measurably high blood pressure for years. I wear Apple Watch 10, one of the models with hypertension alerts. And yet I’ve never seen one up close and personal. Apparently my meds are working!
Apple might be slow to jump on the AI bandwagon, but internally, the company “runs on Anthropic at this point.” Apparently, the company was also ready to rebuild Siri around Claude, but the deal fell through at the last moment.
“Anthropic is powering a lot of the stuff Apple’s doing internally in terms of product development and a lot of their internal tools,” revealed Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman in the TBPN’s Technology’s daily show.