Apple is reportedly prepping a significant upgrade to the photo-editing capabilities of the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company will turn to artificial intelligence to let users enhance their images, including using generative AI to extend images beyond their current borders, according to information leaking out of Cupertino on Tuesday.
The news should raise the excitement level for iOS 27, macOS 27 and iPadOS 27, which should arrive this fall.
Finding good AI tools isn’t the problem. Even the free version of ChatGPT can do a lot. The real frustration is that if you want good results for generating copy, creating images, transcribing text and doing a myriad of other AI tasks, you often need a whole pile of subscriptions, and those costs add up. The alternative is to get an all-in-one tool that brings top AI models together in one interface. Enter 1minAI.
The major benefits of 1minAI are organizational and financial. It gives you access to ChatGPT, Gemini Pro, Llama, Mistral AI and more. So you get all your AI tools in one place, and you don’t need to pay for a subscription to each one separately. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime sub to 1minAI for just $29.97.
Pansophy is a secure personal AI assistant that runs on your Mac (or other computer). Once installed, Pansophy acts like a constant companion that can help with writing, coding, research, planning and everyday problem-solving.
You can ask it to draft emails, clean up text, brainstorm marketing ideas, outline projects or walk through tricky concepts. It feels similar to chatting with a cloud-based model, only everything happens on your CPU. It’s a fully local AI assistant that runs without accounts, subscriptions or cloud processing. And right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to Pansophy for just $79 (regularly $199).
Update: Perplexity said in March it would unleash Personal Computer software to work as an artificial intelligence manager for Mac, and now it’s available.
Today we're releasing Personal Computer.
Personal Computer integrates with the Perplexity Mac App for secure orchestration across your local files, native apps, and browser.
We’re rolling this out to all Perplexity Max subscribers and everyone on the waitlist starting today. pic.twitter.com/kxgFQFo7BB
— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) April 16, 2026
Original post:
Artificial intelligence search engine company Perplexity just unveiled what it calls Personal Computer. It’s not a new piece of hardware, but a layer of software that transforms a Mac — specifically an M4 Mac mini in the company’s promotions — into a tireless AI employee.
It works around the clock, coordinates other artificial intelligence systems, accesses your local files and can be controlled from anywhere in the world. Mac users might be intrigued. Privacy advocates may not be so sure.
Apple will reportedly send a sizable share of its Siri development team to an intensive, multi-week bootcamp to improve their AI coding skills. To be clear, the employees won’t be learning how to make an AI, but how to use AI to develop.
It’s part of a push to finally complete the revamp of Apple’s voice assistant that the company promised years ago.
Google brought its Gemini AI assistant directly to Mac, launching a new native macOS app on Wednesday. The app makes it easy to share what’s on your computer’s screen with the AI.
It’s designed to be more tightly integrated with the user’s workflow than the web version.
A new AI voice recorder promises to solve one of the most persistent frustrations for professionals who live on calls — capturing both sides of a conversation via Bluetooth even when you wear headphones, and without requring bots, subscriptions or complicated setup. It’s the new HiDock P1 AI Voice Recorder.
With the ChatOn all-in-one AI assistant, you can access multiple top AI models, image-creation tools and real-time search, all in one app — and all for one low price.
For a limited time, get five years of ChatOn for just $98 with code CHAT30.
ChatPlayground AI gives you easy access to more than 40 of the top AI models across 25 apps, all in one place — and all for one low price. It includes big names like ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Llama, Perplexity and Gemini, and it lets you send one prompt to multiple AIs simultaneously.
That means you can compare results to find the right AI tool for the job at hand, without jumping from one AI app to another. If you’re a heavy AI user, it will save you time as well as money. Normally $619, a lifetime subscription to ChatPlayground AI’s Unlimited plan is on sale now for only $59.97.
Apple is working to upgrade Siri so the voice assistant can handle multiple requests at once, according to an unconfirmed report from Bloomberg. The feature would let users combine several commands into a single query instead of issuing them one at a time.
It’s apparently part of a much larger project to inject some real intelligence into Siri. Artificial intelligence.
Apple is planning a major shift for Siri in iOS 27, opening the voice assistant up to multiple third-party AI services, not just ChatGPT, according to a report published Thursday.
If true, this means iPhone users will be able to route Siri requests to different AI models, such as Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude, depending on their preference.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The surprise release of AirPods Max 2 gives us plenty to talk about (including all the things Apple didn’t fix about the high-end headphones).
Plus, special guest Christina Warren (developer advocate at GitHub and co-host of the MacBreak Weekly podcast) joins us for a deep dive into one of Leander’s favorite topics — OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent that’s got everyone snapping up Mac minis, and the rise of agentic coding.
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 version, embedded below.
Over the past few years, the artificial intelligence race looked like a story about infrastructure. Which company can build the biggest, most power-hungry data center, stock it with the most Nvidia GPUs and spend the most money? OpenAI, Amazon, Google, xAI — they’re all in a competition to build industrial-scale computing factories just to run the most powerful AI models. But it looks like developer Dan Woods just upended that story by running a data-center AI model on MacBook.
And that could mean Apple wins the AI race after all.
AI prompt generator VibeFarm gives you a new way to write, revise and reuse AI prompts so you achieve the best results in the shortest time. Just use this simple but sophisticated tool to create the perfect prompt, then feed it to your AI of choice.
After you achieve your goal, you can use VibeFarm to easily tweak your prompt and reproduce similarly stellar results time and time again. And right now, a lifetime subscription to VibeFarm costs just $99.99 (regularly $539).
CareerSprinter Pro gives you lifetime access to AI-powered resume, interview and salary tools that help you job hunt smarter and move your career forward with confidence — for a one-time payment of $49.99.
It’s easy to lose track of your projects when all your ideas and notes are scattered across different apps. If you want a simpler way to get organized, try Hive AI. This browser-based workspace pulls documents, visual boards and structured data into one place — and adds AI tools to help you clean things up faster.
It’s part workspace, part AI-integrated project manager, and it’s great for working alone or collaborating with others. Right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to Hive AI for just $79 (regularly $619).
AI writing tools work wonders, but AI detectors can flag your content if it leans too heavily on robo-prose. If you want your AI writing to be undetectable, you must edit all that content yourself, but it takes time to add the human touch. Sometimes, there just isn’t room in the schedule, but that’s OK. There’s a robot for that, too. You can use an AI humanizer like Undetectable Humanizer.
The Undetectable Humanizer transforms your AI-generated text into natural, human-like prose to help it bypass AI detection systems. This tool is a great get for writers, content creators and business owners who need to save as much time as they can when creating engaging content. A lifetime subscription to this effective AI humanizer’s pro plan is on sale now for $139.99 (regularly $2,880).
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The “special Apple Experience” planned for March 4 doesn’t sound like a typical Apple event. What could it be? And what new hardware will we see?
It definitely doesn’t look like Apple CEO Tim Cook will be hitting us with his standard “good mooooorning” … we go over the possibilities.
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.
The courses in the 2026 Complete Generative AI Mastery Bundle will teach you how to use AI for automation, advanced content production, project management and more. We’re talking real-world workflows that will help you get more done every day.
And right now, you can get these seven generative AI courses, with 43.5 hours of instruction, for just $29.99 (MSRP $140).
Apple is putting the pedal to the metal as it rushes to produce new types of AI-powered wearable devices. Three products — smart glasses, upgraded AirPods and an AirTag-size pendant — will rely on built-in cameras, the iPhone’s processing power and the upgraded Siri voice assistant to power new AI capabilities.
A new report, based on anonymous sources within the company, sheds light on what the devices will look like, what they will do, and when we can expect them.
Apple’s smart-home platform has long trailed competitors like Amazon Alexa and Google Home in automation capabilities and intelligent features. But with further development of Apple Intelligence — the company’s suite of AI-powered tools — that gap may finally close, and Apple Intelligence truly could empower Apple Home.
While Apple hasn’t officially announced AI-driven Home automations, the groundwork is clearly being laid for a future where your smart home anticipates your needs rather than simply responding to commands.
iOS 26.4 could turn out to be a dud. The long-delayed artificial intelligence enhancements for Apple’s Siri digital assistant that had been eagerly expected to launch in the next iPhone software update are reportedly not anywhere close to being ready.
The new capabilities, originally slated for a spring release, are now being spread across multiple future updates as engineers work to resolve persistent technical issues, according to sources familiar with the company’s internal plans.
BrowserCopilot puts a powerful AI assistant right inside your web browser, helping you write, research and reply more quickly — without switching tabs or breaking your workflow.
It harnesses three of the most popular AIs around: ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. And for a limited time, you can secure lifetime access to BrowserCopilot for just $69. That’s an 88% discount off the regular price of $619.
Clawdbot. Moltbot. OpenClaw. The rapid rebranding might confuse you, but behind that name is a genuinely useful tool. OpenClaw is a self-hosted AI agent that you can run on your own Mac or PC.
More importantly, it can carry out actions on your behalf, like reading and modifying files, running shell commands, and even installing new tools. Think of OpenClaw as an AI agent running on your Mac that can act as your always-on digital butler.
On the latest episode of the Cult of Mac podcast: Apple makes a pretty bold move by adding third-party AI coding tools to Xcode. This will make it easier for professional developers to deal with drudge work.
It also makes it simpler for beginners to write their own apps. With AI in Xcode, anyone with a good idea can make their coding dream come true. And this raises all kinds of questions …
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.