With WWDC26 just days away, the annual guessing game over California place-names that could become the new macOS name is in full swing. Various clues and speculation about macOS 27 suggest this year’s leading candidates are Big Bear and Emerald.
Apple will open a new Developer Center in Berlin later this year. It’s the first of its kind on the continent and its fifth worldwide, the iPhone giant said Wednesday.
“Europe is home to an extraordinary community of developers who are building apps that create connections, encourage creativity and drive innovation,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We have always believed that when developers have the right tools and resources to do their best work, incredible things follow. That belief is what this center is built on, and we look forward to seeing what the community continues to develop.”
Apple chose 12 apps and games as the best of the best in 2026 from its developer community on Tuesday, honoring titles spanning six award categories for recognition at WWDC26 next week.
“This year’s Apple Design Award winners are a remarkable reflection of how developers are creating exceptional experiences,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. She added that honorees “represent the very best of what our platform makes possible.”
Apple is building its long-anticipated folding iPhone around a liquid metal hinge, and the device has now actually reached mobile carriers around the world for compatibility testing, a prominent Apple supply chain leaker said Tuesday.
With a letter signed by 40 members of Congress sent Monday, Apple faces increased federal pressure over its plan to shut down the Apple Towson Town Center store in Maryland. The location, set to close on June 20, holds the distinction of being the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize.
The congressional letter pulls no punches. The lawmakers describe the closure as “unacceptable in its impact, and deeply troubling in its national implications for workers’ rights.”
The display in your Apple Watch may already seem pretty great, but a new type of screen technology in development could make models in the next year or two even better by running for longer on a single charge, according to a new report.
Apple made an update available for its iPhone operating system Monday with iOS 26.5.1. It addresses a wired charging problem some users with iPhone Series 17 or iPhone Air handsets face.
Apple said the problem affects a “small number of users.” But for the few users who face it, the problem probably feels pretty big. The same goes for a Mac glitch fixed by macOS 26.5.1, also released Monday.
Apple prepares to bring one of the most-requested social money features directly into iPhone, with a new bill-splitting tool expected to debut as part of iOS 27 this fall, according to a new report Monday. We expect to hear more about it next week at WWDC26.
Apple’s long-awaited foldable phone took another step out of the shadows on Monday, as a flurry of new leaks put a face — and a few specs — to a device the company has yet to officially acknowledge.
With one week to go until its annual developer showcase, Apple leaned into a luminous theme with the new WWDC26 tagline “All systems glow.”
You can get your devices ready for the WWDC26 keynote, which kicks off the weeklong event on June 8, with new wallpaper and an Apple Music playlist.
New Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless over-ear headphones bring Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, upgraded noise cancellation and one killer feature major players like Apple and Bose will have to consider adding — a user-replaceable battery, which can greatly extend the life of the product.
The new Sennheiser cans arrive June 16 for $399.99.
★★★★☆
Apple users live in one of the most polished hardware ecosystems on Earth. Every accessory entering that orbit gets held to a higher standard — not just for specs, but for how effortlessly it fits in. My Tozo PE1 Portable Wireless Speaker review concludes that the tiny gadget finds a place quite easily, with great sound, fantastic portability and solid durability. Plus it’s incredibly inexpensive.
Mac gaming has a complicated history — years of sparse game libraries and hardware that PC gamers dismissed out of hand. But something shifted with Apple silicon, and the Cult of Mac Setups archive has tracked it in real time. Here are the best Mac gaming setups from the past several years.
As Apple prepares what could be its most consequential software release in years with iOS 27 at WWDC26, we get our first real glimpse at what an overhauled Siri and other Apple Intelligence features may look like, courtesy of Bloomberg. It mocked up a bunch of illustrations in a new report Thursday.
In the hallways of the Cherokee Immersion School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, a quiet revolution is underway. Students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are learning to speak a language that fewer than 1,500 people in the world still speak fluently — and Apple technology is helping make it happen as iPad and Mac revitalize Cherokee language, the iPhone giant reported in a new feature story Thursday.
“The technology that we utilize with Apple has allowed us to take everything that we really are trying to achieve here, which is the perpetuation and the revitalization of Cherokee language and culture, and use that same technology to make it relevant to the young people that are learning here,” said Chuck Hoskin Jr., Cherokee Nation’s principal chief.
There’s a moment in the second episode of Widow’s Bay on Apple TV when Mayor Tom Loftis, played by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys, sits in the lobby of a deeply haunted New England island inn and shares drinks and a board game with a stranger. They chat about his upbringing, his dreams for the town, his failures as a father. It sounds cozy. But it isn’t.
Something is very, very wrong with his companion — and with the room itself — and the horror creeps in so gradually and so quietly that by the time it fully lands, you realize you’ve been holding your breath. That scene, in miniature, is what Widow’s Bay is: a show that disarms you with warmth and wit before the floor drops out.
As a born-and-bred New Englander who inexplicably returned to this accursed place after 30 years away, I found the show got me pretty good.
Popular podcast After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe will return for a third season on June 7, Apple said Wednesday. The show, which stars Ted Lasso alum Hunt and Premier League soccer commentator Lowe, will arrive in time to cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We are thrilled to bring After the Whistle back for a third season,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services and health, in a press release. “Brendan and Rebecca have an incredible ability to capture the energy and passion of the World Cup. Their unique dynamic and deep love for soccer make this show an absolute can’t-miss for fans everywhere.”
If you’ve been sitting on an older Apple device, now might be a good time to put it toward something new. The iPhone giant has quietly updated its U.S. trade-in estimates, boosting values across most of its current iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch lineup.
★★★★★
There’s a well-worn law of consumer electronics: the further you push into “Pro Max” territory, the more you’re paying for marginal improvements that most people don’t need. This Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max earbuds review finds the new buds challenge that rule in an interesting way.
The earbuds inside the case are identical to those in the $169.99 Liberty 5 Pro I reviewed yesterday — same drivers, same ANC, same battery life, same call quality. What you’re paying an extra $60 for, almost entirely, is the case. But it’s a truly remarkable case.
Ferrari officially pulled the wraps off the Luce, its first-ever all-electric vehicle, on Monday — and for Apple fans, this one’s personal. The car’s exterior and interior took design cues from LoveFrom, the creative collective founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and longtime collaborator Marc Newson.
The Ferrari Luce is the highest-profile project the duo has taken on since leaving Cupertino, and it’s already dividing opinions. Plus, it’s the closest we’ll ever get to an Apple car.
★★★★☆
Anker’s Soundcore sub-brand spent years punching above its weight in the budget and midrange earbuds market, and Liberty 5 Pro is an ambitious new swing. Released alongside the pricier Liberty 5 Pro Max (reviewed separately tomorrow), these $169.99 earbuds aim squarely at anyone who wants AirPods Pro-level features without paying AirPods Pro prices.
This Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds review finds them excellent overall. They particularly excel at call clarity.
There’s a moment, familiar to anyone who has experienced it, when you move from a dual-monitor setup to a single ultrawide and realize the bezels were never doing you any favors. One seamless, curving (or not) expanse of glass — from 34 inches to 49 inches and beyond — that wraps gently around the periphery of your vision, eliminating the dead stripe down the middle of your workspace where two screens met. We found the best ultrawide Mac setups from years of Cult of Mac coverage.
Two new sets of Soundcore flagship earbuds — Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max — introduce the company’s first product line built around a co-developed Thus AI chip, the Anker subsidiary said Thursday. Both models are available now, starting at $169.99 and $229.99 respectively. They’re compatible with Apple’s Find My network.
This Saturday, Apple TV will make broadcast history when it streams a live Major League Soccer match captured entirely on iPhone 17 Pro. It marks the first use of just a smartphone to shoot a whole major professional live sporting event, the iPhone giant said Thursday.
The M5 MacBook Air is the best mobile computer for most people, and a sweet deal drops the 15-inch model to a record-low price. The sale slashes up to $199 off the base model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSDs … if you pick the right color.
That means you can snag the 15-incher for only $1,099.99 in the starlight color option. Other colors cost $1,149, or $150 off. And you can get the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air for just $899 if you choose the sky blue option. That’s a fat $200 off.