Apple users have long faced a frustrating paradox in home audio. Stay within the HomePod ecosystem and enjoy seamless Siri integration, or stray to better-sounding third-party options and sacrifice native Apple Home features. Denon’s new trio of Denon Home series speakers — Home 200, Home 400 and Home 600 — may finally have cracked that particular problem.
Netflix is testing a powerful new AI voice search that shows just how badly the Apple TV 4K needs an upgrade. Currently limited to a handful of users, Netflix’s new AI-powered tool lets users search for content conversationally. And instead of searching for something simple like a movie genre or specific title, they can ask Netflix for entertainment that fits their current mood.
For example, users can ask for something like “find me something that’s emotional but not too long” or “a romantic comedy with a few episodes.”
It’s a real game changer, according to a beta tester who gained early access. When Apple’s long-delayed Siri upgrade finally arrives, it could provide a similar — or even better — experience on Apple TV 4K.
Safari in iOS 27 and macOS 27 will reportedly copy a handy Google Chrome feature to better manage your open tabs. It will build on the Tab Groups feature to organize similar open tabs into groups automatically.
Apple will apparently also provide a manual way to open tabs into groups.
macOS 27 will reportedly feature a “slight” Liquid Glass redesign to address some of the complaints with macOS Tahoe. Apple will seemingly address the readability and transparency issues that currently plague the Mac operating system.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the redesign will not be dramatic. If anything, the “goal is more of a cleanup and refinement effort.”
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: We’ve been complaining about just how stupid Siri can be for years, but Apple’s failure to deliver a promised AI upgrade just cost the company a cool $250 million.
We discuss how you can get your sliver of that payout, whether a stupid Siri is a deal-breaker (obviously not, since we all swear by our iPhones), and how Apple can really make things right.
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.
Perplexity’s new Mac app brings its Personal Computer AI agent to a much wider audience, expanding access beyond the group of high-level subscribers who first gained entry to the service in April, the company said Thursday.
Pisen unveiled two new portable power banks Thursday aimed at users who need fast, reliable power on the go — including solid support for iPhones and other Apple devices, plus certification for airline travel.
Apple’s Education Store in the US and Canada now requires UNiDAYS verification. This brings the store’s policy in line with the rest of the world.
Going forward, to be eligible for a student discount on Apple products, you’ll need an active UNiDAYS account.
Apple’s next-gen AirPods are reportedly in “late stages of development,” with the addition of cameras being a standout feature of the earbuds. The goal of adding cameras is apparently to make the earbuds, potentially called “AirPods Ultra,” into AI-friendly devices that are aware of the user’s surroundings.
They could become the first of a new class of wearables from Apple designed for the AI era.
Apple’s 2026 Swift Student Challenge produced some of its most socially conscious code yet, with four Distinguished Winners using Apple’s developer tools — and a lot of AI assistance from Claude, among others — to build apps that address tremors, presentation anxiety, flood safety and music education. Apple showcased them in a feature story Thursday.
Apple reportedly will produce twice as many MacBook Neos as it originally planned. That will require producing more A18 Pro chips, which might force Apple to raise the price of the popular laptops.
Demand for the company’s first entry-level notebook exceeds supply because it also exceeds Apple’s prelaunch estimate of how popular the MacBook Neo would be.
Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing it of false advertising and unfair competition, after the personalized Siri features it promoted when launching iPhone 16 saw significant delays. Now, many iPhone users can lay claim to payouts.
Bose brought back one of its most iconic product lines with the launch of the Lifestyle Collection on Tuesday. The trio of premium home audio devices — which put the brand squarely in competition with Apple’s HomePod 2 and Sonos’ popular lineup — are Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker ($299), Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar ($1,099) and Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer ($899).
All three go on sale May 15 and are available for preorder now.
Apple no longer offers RAM upgrade options for the Mac Studio on its online store. As a result, you can get the Mac Studio with a maximum of 96GB memory — over 5x lower than its previous maximum of 512GB.
Likewise, the M4 Mac mini is now unavailable with 32GB memory.
Apple will let iPhone and Mac users choose between multiple AI models for different tasks, according to a report published Tuesday. The strategy would allow users to select whichever third-party AI system they prefer to generate and edit text and images for them.
It’s a brilliant solution to the ongoing battle between companies to develop the best AI models. It won’t matter whether OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, etc., wins that fight — because Apple also wins.
After more than three years in beta, Homebridge 2.0 officially launched Monday. And for Apple Home users, it’s one of the most meaningful smart home software updates in years. The new release adds support for the Matter smart home standard, significantly expanding what devices you can use within Apple’s ecosystem.
Apple’s push to modernize U.S. manufacturing took a visible step forward late last week at the inaugural Apple Manufacturing Academy Spring Forum in East Lansing, Michigan. It was the academy’s largest gathering to date, Apple said.
Hundreds of manufacturers, industry leaders and academics converged on Michigan State University’s campus to share how the program is already changing the way American businesses operate. That includes a push for artificial intelligence in supply chains and on factory floors.
“We created the Apple Manufacturing Academy with Michigan State because we wanted to bring advanced manufacturing techniques to American manufacturers,” said Priya Balasubramaniam, Apple’s vice president of product operations, in a press release Tuesday. “Our goal was to create real-world applications that help companies enhance their productivity and efficiency.”
iPhone 17 emerged as the world’s best-selling phone in Q1, 2026, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research. iPhones also continued their dominance, securing the top three spots.
Besides the iPhones, several budget and mid-range Android phones made it to the list, with flagship models missing entirely.
Apple is considering using Intel and Samsung foundries to fabricate chips for its devices. The company seemingly held early talks with Intel about using its foundry services.
TSMC currently makes all of Apple’s chips on its cutting-edge nodes.
iOS 27 will bring a long-requested upgrade to the iPhone Apple Wallet application: the ability for users to create their own passes directly within the app, according to report published Monday.
If true, this would significantly expand how iPhone owners manage everyday cards and tickets with the app.
Apple on Monday seeded the iOS 26.5 Release Candidate to beta testers, signaling that eager iPhone users should circle May 11 on their calendars. The major new feature is fully secure, encrypted messages when using RCS… though this will remain in beta even after iOS 26.5 launches.
Monday also brought the macOS Tahoe 26.5 Release Candidate, as well as equivalents for iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and more.
Apple introduced its latest Pride Collection Monday. It includes a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Loop, a matching watch face and complementary iPhone and iPad wallpapers. The iPhone giant timed the release to celebrate Pride Month in June and LGBTQ+ communities year-round.
The reception online so far seems positive, if not jubilant.
“Omg they did such a good job with them for once,” one user wrote.
A very sad day has come, and a beloved relative has passed away. And it seems Apple is making the experience worse because it refuses to unlock the deceased person’s iPhone!
It’s not that Apple refuses to — it literally cannot. And it all comes down to the way encryption works.
Fortunately, there’s a simple way to prevent this problem. It just takes some preparation.
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: A slightly suspect rumor indicates Apple pulled the plug completely on the Vision Pro headset. Can that really be true? What does the future hold for the Vision Pro, visionOS and Apple’s rumored smart glasses?
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.
Apple no longer offers the M4 Mac mini with 256GB of storage at a $599 price. Instead, the base model now comes with 512GB of storage and a higher $799 price tag.
Here’s why.