August 13, 2002: Apple unveils the final face-lift for its Power Mac G4, the Mirrored Drive Doors model.

The distinctive-looking computer borrows visually from the previous QuickSilver G4, released a year earlier. However, it adds a different front panel, with a mirrorlike finish for the media drive doors. And the new computer’s powerful processors force an unfortunate compromise.

Apple TV added something its growing library of original shows and movies has been missing: a bunch of big-name Hollywood hits. The streaming service now offers a collection of popular movies that subscribers can watch at no additional cost.

Apple Originals are great, but sometimes you’re in the mood for an old-school classic. Check out the ones now available through Apple TV.

Apple wants your iPhone to know when to bug you and when to back off. A newly published Apple AI interruption patent describes a system that keeps an eye on what you’re doing and nudges you only when your behavior calls for it.

The filing, published this month, pairs this very idea with another feature. It turns your recent activity into a quick summary that you can check later instead of interrupting whatever you’re doing on your iPhone. Together, the two pieces do read like a blueprint for smarter Reduce Interruptions and notification summaries.

Apple reportedly wants to secure content deals with publishers to give Siri AI access to the latest news and information. It is supposedly proposing multi-year agreements with publishers for this. 

As part of the deal, Apple will pay publishers every time their content is used or displayed in Siri AI. 

People often accuse Google of stealing from Apple, but here’s something Apple should pinch from its rival ASAP.

The new Pixel Watch 5, unveiled Wednesday at the annual Made by Google event, comes with a new feature that can predict insulin resistance, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. If flagged early, insulin resistance can often be reversed with lifestyle changes.

“A first-of-its-kind feature on Pixel and Fitbit wearables, Insulin Resistance Trends analyzes multi-week physiological data to track shifts in your metabolic health without requiring a single drop of blood,” Google said in a press release Wednesday.

It’s not the sort of full-blown blood sugar monitor Apple has been trying to build into the Apple Watch for years. However, Pixel Watch’s Insulin Resistance Trends feature could spot changes in the health of someone wearing the device in time for them to take action. And that could keep them from a potentially deadly diabetes diagnosis.

Nothing illustrates the power of Apple’s ecosystem like the Continuity features that help your Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch work seamlessly together.

Thanks to Continuity, your iPhone can serve as your Mac’s webcam — and you can remotely control your iPhone from your Mac. You can start an email on one device and instantly pick it up on another. You can use the same keyboard and mouse with a Mac and iPad, copy and paste across devices and more.

These features flex the power of Apple’s hardware and software — and they would never be possible on a PC.
In this post (and the accompanying video), I will show you some of the time-saving, annoyance-busting Continuity features you can enjoy when you go all-in on the Apple ecosystem.

SpaceXAI launched Grok Bot for iPhone and Mac in beta on Tuesday, giving some subscribers access to AI agents that can handle real tasks across apps, inboxes and websites.

Each bot runs on its own cloud computer, meaning a task keeps moving even after you close your laptop.

Apple looks set to refresh one of the most popular Apple Watch faces, with nine new colors reportedly coming to the Modular face this fall.

The colors surfaced in the latest iOS 27 beta code, and they could point to a broader refresh landing alongside new Apple Watch hardware and accessories this fall.

August 12, 1981: The launch of the IBM Personal Computer ignites a long-running Apple-versus-PC rivalry.

Secure in the Apple II’s technical superiority over the new PC, Apple welcomes International Business Machines to the personal computing party in a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal. Things won’t stay positive for long, though.

The first new iMac in two years is right around the corner. This fall, we can look forward to Apple’s updated all-in-one desktop getting a significant improvement in performance thanks to the M6 processor, which is good news for those wanting to use it with Apple’s new AI features. And new colors!

Here’s what to expect from the 2026 iMac.

Apple’s Back to School promotion will now run almost a month longer than its original schedule. It now ends on September 24, instead of August 27.

The extended date applies to the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, Thailand and several other countries.

A proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Apple of fraud, alleging that a Private Relay problem means that iCloud+ subscriptions failed to deliver the privacy protection Apple promised.

If you ever paid for iCloud+ to gain the peace of mind Private Relay offered, the privacy shield you paid extra for had a hole in it the whole time. And Apple is now getting sued over it.

The Mophie Roam 3-in-1 Travel Charger pumps power more quickly into an iPhone than almost any other charger I’ve tested that’s designed for use on the go. And it can juice up an Apple Watch and AirPods case at the same time. There’s a trade-off, though.

I put the accessory through a full round of testing with my Apple devices. Here’s what I found.

August 11, 1987: The MultiFinder app brings the biggest software update to the Mac since the computer’s launch. Baked into Macintosh System Software 5, MultiFinder allows multitasking with two apps on screen for the first time.

While MultiFinder brings an undeniable boost to the Macintosh’s technical capabilities, it is built on a shaky foundation that soon begins to show its age.

Apple is building a new way to prove your iPhone photos are real. Called Apple Reference Image, it could become a highlight of iOS 27. The tool is designed to verify whether a photo was actually captured by the iPhone’s camera, not an AI generator.

It showed up in a privacy disclosure buried in iOS 27 beta 5.

Apple could give the iPhone 18 Pro Max a massive battery upgrade this year. A new leak points to a nearly 12% increase in capacity.

An allegedly leaked image of the phone’s battery points to a 5,391mAh capacity. If accurate, that would give the iPhone 18 Pro Max a nearly 12% larger battery than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Contrary to an analyst’s claim, Apple still plans to launch an all-glass iPhone on its 20th anniversary in 2027.

“The company expects to launch iPhone Pro models next year that will make use of a new glassy look,” wrote Mark Gurman in a Bloomberg report on Monday. Apple tested a version with even more glass but scrapped the plan early on due to design and manufacturing problems.

After almost a month-long gap, Apple rolled out iOS 27 beta 5 to developers on Monday. With September fast approaching, the new beta adds the necessary polish before the OS’s public release this fall.

Below are all the changes spotted in iOS 27 beta 5 so far, including the (possible) name of the first folding iPhone.

Apple is reportedly testing Chinese memory chips for possible use in future iPhones and MacBooks. The move comes as the company scrambles to secure memory supply during a global shortage.

The tests, which might span multiple product lineups, follows early talks with Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies about supplying components. Apple also seems to be seeking approval from the White House before moving forward with deals involving devices sold in China.

Apple is bringing Friday Night Baseball to life in a whole new way on the Vision Pro headset. For the first time, baseball fans will be able to watch live games in Apple Immersive Video, putting them closer to the action than a traditional broadcast can.

Apple Immersive Video offers 3D video recorded in 8K with a 180-degree field of view.

The first game in the enhanced format comes on August 28 pitting the Red Sox vs. the Yankees. Going forward in the 2026 season, a game each Friday will be watchable in 3D.

With this Scramble Cloud deal, you can secure a lifetime subscription with up to 20TB of end-to-end encrypted cloud storage for just $349.95 (regularly $1,440).

In contrast to many other cloud platforms, Scramble Cloud really leans into personal privacy. Encryption happens on your device before anything gets uploaded, so your files never exist in an unencrypted state on someone else’s server. Scramble uses zero-knowledge architecture, which means even their own team can’t read what you’ve stored.

The iPhone’s Lock Screen has always played by Apple’s rules. That changes with iOS 27, which hands far more design choices to iPhone users.

The upcoming update adds four new tools. You can generate AI wallpapers, stretch photos to fit properly, move the clock and hide the Now Playing widget. It’s the most flexible the iPhone Lock Screen has ever been.

August 10, 2008: The developer of I Am Rich, a pointless iPhone app that sold for a whopping $999.99, defends his notorious creation as “art.”

After Apple removed I Am Rich from the App Store in the wake of controversy over the app’s outrageous price and total lack of usefulness, its creator, German developer Armin Heinrich, says he made it as a sort of joke.

If Apple launches the first folding iPhone next to the iPhone 18 Pro Max this fall, it won’t just add a new phone. It will force an awkward question: How many “best iPhones” can Apple sell at once?

For years, the iPhone Pro Max has been the undisputed top of the line. Now rumors point to a foldable model, possibly called the iPhone Ultra or the iPhone Fold, arriving at the same time.

Apple planned to make the iPhone upgrade process more seamless by shipping customers new devices with all their data and settings preloaded.

While the idea sounded simple, the company eventually scrapped it due to privacy concerns and the complexities involved.