This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for Apple to finally deliver on its promise of a smarter Siri, it’s time to exhale. Then take a deep breath of disappointment.

Dashing our hopes, it sounds like Apple is delaying Siri’s AI-powered upgrade again! What does it mean? And will Apple ever get its Siri together? We discuss the latest rumors and ponder whether the delay might actually be a good thing.

Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:

• The smarter Siri isn’t the only AI-powered project sucking wind at Apple. Cupertino reportedly pulled the plug on the AI health coach it had been working on.
• A new rumor gives us a launch date for the high-end M5 MacBook Pros we’ve been waiting for.
• Next-gen AirPods Pro reportedly will pack built-in cameras. But what will they actually do?
• And finally, we discuss a multi-Mac setup with the most bizarre keyboard we’ve ever seen.

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 live stream, embedded below.

Using a clipboard history manager on a Mac is a total game-changer. If you copy something important, then copy something else without thinking, the first item doesn’t disappear. You can go back and get it again. In fact, you can go back and paste things from hours and hours ago, like a link you copied earlier in the day. 

You can also copy a bunch of things in a row and quickly paste them elsewhere, without switching back and forth and back and forth. 

macOS 26 Tahoe added a built-in clipboard history that does all that for free. Here’s how it works.

Youbooks is a new AI book writer that combines popular AI models like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to help you create full nonfiction books. A lifetime subscription is on sale now for just $49 (regularly $540).

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about connection. But every year, candlelit dinners across the country glow less from romance and more from the light of an iPhone screen. There’s even a word for it: “phubbing” — snubbing someone in favor of your phone.

If there’s one night when iPhone users absolutely must resist the reflex to check notifications or Instagram, it’s February 14.

After two long years of waiting, Apple Vision Pro owners can finally watch YouTube the way it was meant to be experienced on a spatial computing headset. Google launched its official YouTube app for visionOS on Thursday, ending one of the most conspicuous app absences on Apple’s $3,499 mixed-reality device.

February 13, 1984: The first Mac’s launch generates enormous excitement from the tech press, as epitomized by an InfoWorld cover story about the Macintosh 128K.

The wave of coverage comes a few weeks after the January 24 release of the Macintosh. But when the press blitz finally arrives, it becomes clear the Mac is a hit.

All signs point to Apple unveiling the iPhone 17e on February 19, and YouTuber Jon Prosser just posted a video that gives us a good look at what to expect.

Contrary to previous leaks, the renders show the iPhone 17e with a Dynamic Island on the front. 

Amid reports that Apple might further delay the release of its AI-powered Siri, the company says it remains on track to launch the smarter voice assistant this year. That’s the same stance Apple maintained previously.

Multiple rumors suggested Apple would debut the smarter Siri with iOS 26.4 this spring. But a recent report suggests that won’t happen.

Apple’s smart-home platform has long trailed competitors like Amazon Alexa and Google Home in automation capabilities and intelligent features. But with further development of Apple Intelligence — the company’s suite of AI-powered tools — that gap may finally close, and Apple Intelligence truly could empower Apple Home.

While Apple hasn’t officially announced AI-driven Home automations, the groundwork is clearly being laid for a future where your smart home anticipates your needs rather than simply responding to commands.

February 12, 2012: Months after his untimely death, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is honored with a Special Merit Grammy Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, collects the Grammy on behalf of Jobs’ family and “everyone at Apple.”

Apple has taken full ownership of its hit workplace drama series Severance, acquiring all intellectual property and rights from production studio Fifth Season in a deal valued at just under $70 million, according to a new report. That makes additional seasons of the fan-favorite show — and spinoff series — more likely. 

Apple News gives you a streamlined way to keep up with current events. It’s a sane, if somewhat generic-looking, way to stay on top of the news that matters to you. If you want more, Apple News+ offers paywall-free access to major publications, local news and magazines. And to sweeten the deal, it has fun daily puzzles, excellent recipes and audio stories.

Admittedly, not a lot of people pay for Apple News+ on its own. It’s hardly a fan favorite. But if you have the Apple One Premier bundle, you can enjoy all of its hidden benefits — here’s how to make the most of it. Keep reading or watch our quick video. 

iOS 26.4 could turn out to be a dud. The long-delayed artificial intelligence enhancements for Apple’s Siri digital assistant that had been eagerly expected to launch in the next iPhone software update are reportedly not anywhere close to being ready.

The new capabilities, originally slated for a spring release, are now being spread across multiple future updates as engineers work to resolve persistent technical issues, according to sources familiar with the company’s internal plans.

Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3 and tvOS 26.3 on Wednesday, delivering a round of bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements aimed at smoothing out the experience across its devices. While the updates don’t introduce splashy new features, they target stability issues and performance hiccups that have surfaced since the launch of the 26 cycle.

These come at the same time as iOS 26.3, which does include new features along with bug removal. (Read our news article: iOS 26.3 brings these 3 changes to your iPhone.)

After beta testing iOS 26.3 since mid-December, Apple finally pushed its stable build to the public Wednesday. Unlike the last two major iOS 26 point builds, iOS 26.3 is light on major new features.

Instead, it brings some notable underlying improvements to the platform, including better compatibility with third-party wearables. Here are two notable changes iOS 26.3 brings to your iPhone.

AppleCare+ has become almost synonymous with Apple device ownership. But as the extended warranty program enters 2026 with new pricing and features, it’s worth asking: Do you really need it?

A recent social media discussion among iPhone users, paired with insights from Apple’s coverage options, reveals that the answer depends heavily on which devices you own and how you use them.

February 11, 2010: With iPad excitement reaching a fever pitch, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wades in with his opinion of Apple’s tablet. His view? Apple’s upcoming device is kinda meh.

“There’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it,'” Gates tells one interviewer.

The Ohsnap Mcon doesn’t just rethink the mobile gaming controller — it practically throws the old playbook in the trash, delivering one of the most flexible and genuinely portable ways to play on the market today.

Even better, you can easily use it with your iPhone, but also your iPad and Mac.

I spent many hours playing games with the innovative controller — here’s why I love it.

AirPods Pro 4 might include an unprecedented feature for wireless earbuds, accordingto a new leak: built-in cameras capable of seeing the environment around the wearer.

The Messages app gains flashy new features in iOS 26 that make group chats far more fun and efficient. It also filters out spam texts, translates conversations and more.

As the iPhone’s default messaging app, Messages is one of Apple’s darlings. The app gains new features with every major update, but iOS 26 stands out as one of the best in years. Here’s how all the new Messages features work — keep reading or watch our quick video.

BrowserCopilot puts a powerful AI assistant right inside your web browser, helping you write, research and reply more quickly — without switching tabs or breaking your workflow.

It harnesses three of the most popular AIs around: ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. And for a limited time, you can secure lifetime access to BrowserCopilot for just $69. That’s an 88% discount off the regular price of $619.

With well over a billion iPhones in use, Apple beats all rivals in the size of its active installed base. Roughly one in four active smartphones worldwide is an iPhone, according to new research.

This didn’t happen by accident — Apple actively supports older iPhone models for a good reason: they’re an important source of revenue.

iPhone or Mac overloaded with pictures? The Photo Backup Stick Omega Universal from Paraben Consumer Software offers a quick fix. It’s a smart thumb drive for photo storage with USB-C, Lightning and micro USB connectors so it works with all your devices.

It comes in 64GB and 128GB models, and makes it easy to free up space across your Apple devices. And right now, it’s on sale for just $29.97 (MSRP $59.99).

February 10, 1993: Apple launches the Macintosh Color Classic, the company’s first compact Mac with a color screen.

As the first all-in-one Mac with an integrated color display, and the last U.S. Mac to offer the original model’s compact form factor, this model represents a landmark in the evolution of the Macintosh. A Color Classic unit also happens to become the 10 millionth Macintosh that Apple ships.

You can charge your AirPods to 100% and get more battery life out of them by switching off the default setting, which limits them to 80%. The charge limit can help preserve your AirPods’ battery to extend their useful life. But that comes at the expense of more frequent charging every day. And if you find yourself in a situation where you need that extra battery life, this tip lets you unlock it — for one day or forever.

If you want to squeeze as much battery life out of your AirPods as possible, and you don’t mind upgrading every few years, here’s how to change the setting. Keep reading or watch our quick video.