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Anurag Chawake - page 7

Apple’s Calendar app adds better natural-language support in iOS 27

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A screenshot of Apple Calendar app on an iPhone in a story about iOS 27's natural-language updates.
Type it like you'd say it. iOS 27's Calendar app understands plain-English event descriptions.
Image: Apple

Apple’s Calendar app is just fine — good enough to use, but never good enough to love — but iOS 27 finally changes that. The update brings natural-language event creation to Apple’s stock app, a feature that third-party solutions have made possible for years.

In iOS 27, you can just type in simple English what you want to do, and your iPhone will take care of the rest. No more hopping between date pickers, fiddling with time selectors, and entering a location. The app will understand and build an event for you.

Siri AI could tell you to take a break if conversations go too long

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An image with the word
Siri AI might tell you to take a break if you're getting too gabby.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new Siri AI chatbot might know when you’ve been bending its ear — and encourage you to take a break. A hidden piece of code in iOS 27 reveals that Siri AI could remind you to chill out if a conversation runs too long.

It’s a small detail, but it suggests Apple is clearly thinking about what happens when you don’t stop talking to Siri.

Apple Music gets compelling upgrades in iOS 27

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A photo of Apple Music on an iPhone used in a story about new features coming to the app with iOS 27.
Apple Music's iOS 27 update is packed with upgrades. Here's what's coming.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple Music will receive one of its biggest overhauls in years with iOS 27, and the changes go deeper than you might expect.

The update covers almost all aspects of the Apple Music app: interface changes, expanded lyrics tools, improved AI-powered mixing, and quality-of-life changes that make the app feel faster. It sounds like a big update for anyone who uses the app daily.

Will your Apple TV run tvOS 27? Two models won’t get the new features.

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A photo of Apple TV used in a story about tvOS 27 compatible devices.
Two Apple TV models may be left behind as tvOS 27 arrives.
Photo: Apple

Apple WWDC26: Apple’s tvOS 27 brings a few new features, but it also will leave two Apple TV models behind. According to Apple’s developer website, the tvOS 27 beta is compatible with “Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later).”

That would mean the Apple TV HD and the Apple TV 4K (1st generation) won’t get the update. If you own either of those set-top boxes, you’re probably stuck on tvOS 26, with no new features coming.

watchOS 27 brings Siri AI, smarter Workout Buddy and a lot more to the Apple Watch

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Product image of Apple Watch running watchOS 27 with new dyanmic app grid on screen (and new Siri AI right in the middle)
A new dyanamic app grid in watchOS 27 puts Siri AI right in the thick of things.
Image: Apple

Apple WWDC26:watchOS 27 will bring the new Siri AI, a smarter Workout Buddy and other useful new features to Apple Watch. While the wearable didn’t receive much attention during the WWDC26 keynote on Monday, Apple said watchOS will get AI-powered upgrades like the rest of its platforms.

“You can start chatting with Siri on your iPhone, pick up where you left off on your iPad, and wrap up on your Mac,” said Mike Rockwell, Apple’s VP of Siri engineering, during the keynote. “We’re also tailoring Siri AI for watchOS. So you can ask questions and take action right on your wrist. And you can also tap into the Siri app using the new app grid on Apple Watch.”

Apple Watch Series 11 hits Apple’s refurbished store, but is it the best deal?

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A photo of Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3.
Apple's refurbished store now carries the Apple Watch Series 11, but you can find a better deal elsewhere.
Photo: Apple

Apple began selling refurbished Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3 last week in its Certified Refurbished store, all of which debuted alongside the iPhone 17 last September. The GPS version of the 46 mm Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $369, while the Ultra 3 and 40mm SE 3 go for $699 and $209, respectively.

That’s good news if you want the peace of mind that comes when buying directly from Apple. Every refurbished Apple Watch goes through a thorough inspection and cleaning process, ships in new packaging, and comes with the same one-year limited warranty Apple offers with a new device. And they are eligible for AppleCare+ as well.

However, for some models, you can find much better deals elsewhere.

Apple’s Gemini-powered Siri might run on Nvidia’s encrypted chips

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A photo of an iPhone in between an Apple and a Google logo.
Apple's Gemini-powered Siri might process some queries on Nvidia hardware in Google Cloud.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Apple could soon do something it rarely does: Trust your data with someone else’s hardware. A new report says the Gemini-powered Siri might route some queries through Google Cloud, powered by Nvidia’s chips.

If you are wondering how Apple plans to keep its privacy promise, Nvidia’s Blackwell B200 chip encrypts your data while it processes it.

A new Apple Pencil could give the Vision Pro a sense of touch

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A photo of the Apple Vision Pro with an Apple Pencil.
A special Apple Pencil could bring a sense of touch to the Vision Pro headset.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

While the Apple Vision Pro is one of the best spatial computers money can buy, touch is one sense it can’t fake. But a newly granted Apple patent hints at a new stylus that can simulate the texture of virtual surfaces on your hand.

The Apple Vision Pro is capable of showing virtual surfaces with great clarity, but it lacks haptic feedback. But the new sort of Apple Pencil could close that gap and make the headset’s XR experiences physical for the first time.

Microsoft will break Office apps on older iPhones, iPads and Macs next month

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A photo of Microsoft Office files on an iPhone.
Old iPhones and Macs will soon be unable to edit and create Microsoft Office files.
Photo: Microsoft

If you use an older Mac, iPhone or iPad, Microsoft might be about to break your Office apps. Starting July 13, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote will stop letting you edit, save or create new files unless you meet certain requirements. You’ll still be able to open and print documents, but that’s it.

The move affects more people than you might think. If you’re running anything older than iOS 17 or macOS 11 Big Sur, your Office apps will mostly be defunct. Microsoft calls it “reduced functionality mode,” which is a fancy way of saying your Office apps will lose editing functionality.

Nvidia finally gives Apple silicon a real competitor

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A photo of RTX Spark chip used in a story about Nvidia's new Apple silicon competitor.
RTX Spark laptops will arrive this fall, potentially offering all-day battery life on Windows laptops.
Image: Nvidia

Apple has been making some of the best laptop chips for years, but Nvidia’s new ARM-based RTX Spark processor might finally give the MacBook a real fight.

For Mac users, the announcement of an ARM-based rival to Apple silicon could be good news. Not because they will switch to Windows, but because this kind of competition could pressure Apple to step up its game and keep innovating.

iOS 27 might finally bring split-screen multitasking to the iPhone

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A photo of a concept showing split screen multitasking on the iPhone.
With the iPhone Ultra, Apple might finally bring multitasking to the iPhone.
Photo: Techblood.in

Apple is reportedly working on new multitasking features in iOS 27 that would automatically adapt any iPhone app for landscape and split-screen layouts.

With the rumored folding iPhone on the horizon, a lack of multitasking would translate to a waste of screen real estate. But this rumored capability could mean your entire app collection would work instantly, without Apple waiting for developers to redesign their apps.

A free tier for Apple Music might be closer than you think

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A photo of the Apple Music app on an iPhone screen, used in a story about Apple Music rumored to get a free tier.
A free Apple Music plan could help the service significantly increase its user base.
Photo: Brett Jordan/Pexels

Just a month after Apple Music’s chief called a free tier a “terrible idea,” code found in a beta version of the streaming service’s Android app suggests Apple might be prepping to do just that.

For years, Apple has avoided offering a free or low-cost subscription tier. But as it races to catch up with Spotify, Apple could be reconsidering its stand.

Samsung’s new monitors offer features Apple still doesn’t

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A photo of the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 used in a story about the same.
Samsung's new OLED monitors are cheaper than Apple's, and have higher refresh rates.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung just launched three new monitors that finally give Mac users a big reason to upgrade, addressing many of the gaps that Apple’s own monitors have left open for quite some time.

The new Samsung monitor lineup includes a 40-inch curved ultrawide and 4K OLED models in two sizes (27-inch and 32-inch). They also come with Thunderbolt 5 ports, built-in KVM switching and faster refresh rates than Apple’s displays.

Is Apple’s nano-texture glass worth it on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro?

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A picture of an iPad Pro with a person using an Apple Pencil, used in a story about Apple's nano-texture glass.
Apple’s nano-texture glass cuts glare, but comes with some downsides.
Photo: Apple

Apple charges $100 to add nano-texture glass to the iPad Pro, and even more if you want to add the anti-glare tech to a MacBook Pro. The technology is undoubtedly impressive, but the real question is whether your work requires it.

Here’s what you need to know before spending your money on Apple’s matte display tech.

WhatsApp will soon make it easy for iPhone users to share documents with Meta AI

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A picture of WhatsApp used in a story about Meta AI now supporting document uploads in WhatsApp.
iPhone users will soon be able to summarize documents using Meta AI in WhatsApp.
Photo: WhatsApp/Cult Of Mac

WhatsApp wants to make Meta AI a lot more useful on the iPhone. To that end, Meta is working on a new feature that allows users to upload documents and get AI-powered summaries and answers right in WhatsApp.

For iPhone users, this sounds like a meaningful upgrade. Instead of switching between apps to analyze PDFs, notes, presentations or spreadsheets, users will be able to hand files directly to Meta AI without relying on another chatbot.

Apple’s handy guide explains how to ID Creator Studio apps

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An image of Apple Creator Studio app icons
Apple wants users to know how to distinguish Creator Studio apps on the Mac.
Image: Apple

An Apple support document published Tuesday helps Mac users figure out which versions of its Creator Studio apps are running on their computers. It’s something no one expected in 2026, but here we are.

Currently, Apple ships two separate versions of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, MainStage, Motion, Compressor and Pixelmator Pro. If you happen to be a Mac owner subscribed to Apple’s Creator Studio who also uses the standalone versions of the apps in the bundle, the support document is for you.

Apple could finally let your iPhone play nice with Google Cast

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An AI-generated drawing of an iPhone using Google Cast to play content on a smart TV.
With iOS 27, casting from your iPhone to standard smart TVs could become as easy as using AirPlay.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

The iPhone could get a lot better at casting videos to the big screen, as Apple is reportedly working on native support for Google Cast in iOS 27. That means you could soon beam video, photos and audio to almost all smart TVs on the planet.

Apple’s AirPlay is great if you are into the Apple ecosystem, but Google Cast is almost everywhere. It’s built into nearly all smart TVs sold today, including the hotel TVs you may have struggled with during vacations. Right now, your iPhone can’t natively talk to these devices, but iOS 27 could change that.

FCC filing reveals new Apple over-ear headphones coming soon

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A picture of Beats Studio Pro used in a story about Apple working on a new pair of headphones.
Apple's filing offers little detail, but hints at a new pair of Beats headphones.
Photo: Apple

Apple appears to be working on a new pair of over-ear headphones, possibly Beats Studio Pro 2. A recently discovered filing in a Federal Communications Commission database describes an unreleased device as “Bluetooth over-ear headphones” with an antenna, battery and microphone.

The best guess right now is a long-overdue refresh of the Beats Studio Pro, which Apple released in 2023. Apple just released the AirPods Max 2, so it is unlikely the company will announce a new set of over-ear Apple headphones.

iOS 27 might finally fix the messy AirPods settings screen

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A photo of Apple AirPods used in a story about AirPods settings page revamp.
The AirPods' settings page just keeps getting more crowded as Apple adds new features.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly preparing to overhaul one of the iPhone’s most cluttered menus: the AirPods settings screen.

Over the years, the AirPods settings screen has grown more cluttered with every new feature Apple introduces to the popular earbuds. That could change with iOS 27, which could come with a completely revamped layout for the AirPods settings.

OpenAI gives Codex for Mac eyes, a remote control and long-term goals

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A picture of OpenAI Codex used in a story about a recent feature update for Mac.
Codex for Mac can now remotely handle tasks even while your MacBook stays closed.
Photo: OpenAI

OpenAI just gave its Codex for Mac programming app a feature called Appshots that makes copy-pasting code or describing what’s on the screen unnecessary. Just press Command twice, and the AI assistant automatically takes a screenshot and captures text from your window, including scrollable content that isn’t visible.

Appshots is the headline addition in this week’s Codex update, and it’s only available on Macs for now. Think of it as giving your AI assistant a pair of eyes, instead of always explaining what you are looking at.

5 things Apple needs to fix before launching the HomePod 3

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An AI generated photo of an Apple HomePod with display used in a story about the much-rumored HomePod 3.
The HomePod 3 needs smarter software and not just faster hardware.
AI image: Google Gemini

Apple’s next HomePod is reportedly stuck in limbo while the company works on its delayed AI Siri upgrade. And honestly? That might be what the HomePod 3 needs. But before Apple unveils the HomePod 3, it needs to address some serious gaps that make it feel far less intelligent than the competition.

The HomePod’s problem has never been its hardware. The speakers sound fantastic, and the device tightly integrates into Apple’s ecosystem. But the user experience still feels a generation behind competing smart speakers. If Apple wants the HomePod 3 to be the center of its smart home ambitions, a faster chip and a shinier enclosure won’t be enough. Here’s what actually needs to change.

Apple’s next iPhone redesign could be all about the curved display

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A photo of a smartphone used in a story about the iPhone 19 Pro's much rumored curved OLED screen.
Apple may finally be preparing to move beyond the Dynamic Island era.
Photo: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly testing a prototype quad-curved OLED screen for the iPhone 19 Pro as part of its push toward an all-screen iPhone. If the leaks prove accurate, it could mark Apple’s biggest redesign since the iPhone X.

The rumored 2027 flagship phone is said to come with under-display Face ID and be curved on all four sides. It could give buyers a compelling reason to skip the iPhone 18 Pro.

Apple won’t let you downgrade from iOS 26.5 anymore — here’s why

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A photo of an iPhone used in a story about the iOS 26.5 update.
Apple officially closed the downgrade window for iOS 26.4.2.
Image: Cult of Mac

Apple stopped signing iOS 26.4.2, meaning iPhone users who updated to iOS 26.5 can no longer roll back to the previous version.

Whenever Apple rolls out an iOS update, it allows users to go back to the previous version if they run into bugs or other issues. But once the company considers the new release stable, it stops signing the older build.

Apple’s titanium iPhone experiment might not be over just yet

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A photo of the iPhone used in a story about future iPhone Pro models getting titanium chassis.
Apple’s next-generation titanium alloy could improve both durability and cooling.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Apple might be having second thoughts about aluminum on the iPhone. A few months after switching the iPhone 17 Pro away from titanium, the company is now reportedly experimenting with an improved titanium alloy that could fix a huge problem with the metal.

If Apple finds a way to make it practical, we could see titanium return to a future iPhone Pro. But the problem is that titanium isn’t as good as aluminum at transferring heat. Aluminum’s better thermal properties are likely why Apple moved away from titanium in the first place. Also, aluminum is cheaper and easier to recycle.

Apple lets Fortnite back on the App Store, but the fight isn’t over yet

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A photo of a smartphone showing Fortnite on the Epic Games Store.
Fortnite is back on iPhone after years away following Epic Games’ legal clash with Apple.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite returned to the App Store in almost all regions, ending its years-long absence that began when Epic Games sued Apple over in-app purchases.

The battle royale’s comeback is real, but Epic Games’ claim that it has already won isn’t completely true. Epic Games brought back Fortnite to the App Store on Tuesday, following the game’s U.S. return last year. But there’s an exception — Australia — and the legal fight that made this possible is nowhere near finished.