Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
The Telegram experience on Apple Watch is about to get a lot better. AI image: ChatGPT
Years after dropping support for the Apple Watch, Telegram is back with a native watchOS app. The revived app offers a richer experience, letting you send messages, reply to chats, and more directly from your wrist.
It packs nearly all the essentials you’d expect from Telegram without having to reach for your iPhone.
Apple provides more options for tweaking Liquid Glass in iOS 27, macOS 27 and iPadOS 27. Image: Apple
Refinements to Apple’s divisive Liquid Glass user interface in iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 address many of the quirks that made some people despise the glossy new UI over the past year.
Apple straightforwardly addressed users’ concerns during Monday’s WWDC26 keynote. And Shubham Kedia, Apple’s human interface design director, said Apple updated “the foundations of how Liquid Glass is built” for this year’s new operating systems.
“Last year, we introduced our most ambitious cross-platform design update ever with Liquid Glass, which made apps and experiences even more expressive and delightful,” said Kedia. “Like with all major design updates, there’s a natural process where we take a bold leap forward and then we continue to iterate.”
Will the changes to Liquid Glass satisfy users who dislike the current state of affairs? The first developer betas are out, and early reactions seem mostly positive. Here are the biggest changes coming to Apple’s design language this year.
Apple all but confirms foldable iPhone in iOS 27 beta 1. AI image: ChatGPT
The first iOS 27 beta contains multiple references to Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone. Hidden within the operating system are strings and other code pointing to features designed specifically for a foldable device.
At this point, it’s no secret that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone. The company itself is now just indirectly confirming it.
iOS 27 brings independent volume controls. AI image: ChatGPT
With iOS 27, Apple finally brings independent volume controls for alarms and timers on the iPhone. This means adjusting your phone’s ringtone volume will no longer affect how loud your alarms, timers and other system sounds are.
It’s a small quality-of-life improvement, but one that iPhone users have been requesting for years.
New Siri won't come to the EU on iPhone and iPad. Photo: Apple
The headlining new feature of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 — new Siri AI — will not come to the EU.
“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year,” said Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi.
iOS 27 will work with even the iPhone 11. Image: Apple
Apple showcased iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27 and macOS 27 at WWDC26’s opening keynote Monday. The updates refine last year’s Liquid Glass redesign, add several new Apple Intelligence features, and introduce a host of quality-of-life improvements across the company’s devices.
Before you get excited about trying the new features, you’ll want to make sure your device is supported. Below, we rounded up the full compatibility lists for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27 and macOS 27.
Ugreen's newest NAS models are 'GT' inspired. Photo: Ugreen
Ugreen has emerged as a popular player in the NAS market. It’s continuing that trend with the launch of two new NAS models in its DXP range: the DXP4800 GT and DXP2800GT.
Both new NAS models use AMD’s Ryzen embedded processor and feature 10GbE Ethernet connectivity for super-fast data transfer.
Use Google's new Mac app to run its AI models locally. Screenshot: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
Google’s new AI Edge Gallery app for macOS lets you run Gemma models locally on your Mac. Instead of relying on the cloud, the app taps into Apple Silicon’s power to process AI tasks directly on your machine.
The app is already available on Android and iOS, with the macOS release bringing the same on-device AI experience to Macs.
MacBook Neo is a huge hit for Apple. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
MacBook Neo outsold every other MacBook in Apple’s lineup in its launch quarter. IDC reports Apple shipped 1.1 million units of its cheapest Mac, higher than the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
What’s impressive is that the Neo achieved this feat despite being on sale for only three weeks during the quarter.
iPhone 18 Pro may not impress you with its battery capacity. Photo: Szabó Viktor/Pexels
iPhone 18 Pro’s alleged battery capacities just surfaced online. While the Chinese variant will reportedly pack a 4,056mAh battery, the US model could feature a larger 4,288mAh cell.
If accurate, these capacities are largely similar to the batteries used in the iPhone 17 Pro.
Apple Glasses is over a year away from launch. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple’s first smart glasses will reportedly stand out based on strong brand value, “industrial design and iPhone integration,” according to new information that surfaced Sunday.
The company will seemingly launch its first smart glasses near the end of 2027.
Apple is betting big on local AI processing. Graphic: Apple/Google
Apple will reportedly play up the on-device AI prowess of its devices next month during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. The company will supposedly highlight how its A-series and M-series chips allow AI models to run locally for better efficiency and privacy.
With Apple’s competitors aggressively pushing cloud-based AI features, the company will likely position on-device AI as a key advantage of its ecosystem throughout WWDC26.
Turn your MacBook into the ultimate one-cable desktop setup with a Thunderbolt 5 dock. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Thunderbolt 5 docks turn your humble MacBook into a full-fledged desktop workstation. They allow for a clean, one-cable setup, with support for multiple monitors, external drives and other USB-C accessories.
There are plenty of Thunderbolt docks on the market, but not all of them are created equal. If you want the fastest speeds, the right mix of ports and seamless compatibility with your Mac, these are the best Thunderbolt 5 docking stations you can buy right now.
rcmd v3 supercharges window management on Mac. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Plenty of third-party Mac app switchers try to improve the experience, but rcmd is my favorite because of its keyboard-driven approach. Now, with the recently released rcmd v3, the app evolves from a simple app switcher into a more powerful productivity tool, adding features like fuzzy search, workspace switching and more.
watchOS 27 may disappoint you with the lack of new features. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch’s next big software update — watchOS 27 — will supposedly follow the same strategy as iOS 27: It will focus on stability and performance rather than introducing radical new features.
Apple will not launch its AI-powered health coaching service with the initial build, according to a new report.
Leaks reveal a lot about iOS 27. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
As it struggles to catch up on AI, Apple almost undoubtedly plans to focus on Apple Intelligence in iOS 27. But the company will also reportedly focus on refining the iPhone experience and tidying up existing features.
Thanks to leaks, we already have an early look at some of iOS 27’s biggest new features. While Apple certainly has some surprises planned, these are the leaked iOS 27 features I’m most excited to try.
★★★★★
The perfect NAS for most users. Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac
The Ugreen DXP4800 Pro is the kind of network-attached storage device, aka NAS, that blurs the line between simple network storage and a compact home server. It packs enough power to handle Plex streaming, Docker containers, virtual machines and multidevice backups.
With a faster processor and improved bandwidth over its predecessor, the DXP4800 Pro delivers a noticeable performance boost for users who want more than just basic file storage.
This added flexibility makes the DXP4800 Pro stand out.
This tool makes creating Shortcuts for your iPhone or Mac incredibly easy. Screenshot: Federico Viticci/MacStories
Apple’s Shortcuts app can be incredibly powerful, but building automations often requires patience and trial and error. A new AI-powered tool — Shortcuts Playground — aims to simplify the process by letting you create shortcuts on your iPhone or Mac with natural-language prompts.
The free and open source app requires Codex or Claude Code to work.
The road to OLED MacBooks just got a lot clearer. AI image: ChatGPT
Samsung Display reportedly pushed the yield of its 8.6-generation OLED panels above 90%. This clears a major hurdle and paves the way for the rumored mass production of Apple’s OLED MacBook lineup later this year.
The improved yield rate should allow Samsung to ramp up panel production at scale.
Google's first smart glasses launch later this year. Photo: Google
Google showcased its first pair of smart glasses at I/O 2026. Developed in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm, the company plans to launch its audio-focused glasses first.
The glasses will debut later this fall and feature frames from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
Will new Siri put privacy over convenience? Photo: Apple
All signs point to Apple reinventing Siri as a conversational AI chatbot in iOS 27, complete with a standalone Siri app. With privacy in mind, the app will reportedly contain an option to automatically delete your Siri chats every 30 days.
This privacy-first approach should give Apple’s AI chatbot an edge over its competitors.
These AI Mac apps will help you get more done in less time. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
AI is changing the kind of apps you can run on a Mac. From voice-first writing tools to meeting assistants and smarter file management, these new AI apps can save hours every week.
After months of testing, these are the AI apps that earned a permanent spot in my workflow.