Apple’s AirPods with cameras just got a lot less mysterious. Buried in the macOS 26.7 release candidate’s code is a hidden framework that reveals exactly how the earbuds will perceive and process the world around you.

The discovery goes far beyond the recently leaked demo video spotted in the same code. It details resolution numbers, capture modes, calibration systems and a built-in privacy light. This gives us the clearest picture yet of the long-rumored AirPods upgrade.

After years of refusing to support Apple Pay, Walmart is finally letting shoppers tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay.

So, shopping at the largest U.S. retailer is about to get easier. But don’t try it this weekend!

August 21, 2008: Microsoft recruits comedian Jerry Seinfeld for a series of ads. It’s a naked attempt to shake the company’s reputation as a stodgy oldster (as opposed to Apple’s trendsetting hipster image).

Microsoft pays Seinfeld a reported $10 million for the ads. However, thanks to the Mac’s appearance in virtually every episode of Seinfeld over the years, the comedian remains the world’s most famous Apple fanboy.

Managing passwords is and always has been a giant pain, but passkeys offer a better way. They are an advanced system that automatically signs you in to online services using your phone’s Face ID (or Touch ID) or your computer’s password.

Switching to biometric authentication or your device’s password means one less thing to remember. Plus, passkeys work without fiddling around with a password manager.

The technology promises a simpler, more convenient and more phishing-resistant way to log in. However, getting started can still feel confusing. Here’s how passkeys work and how to use them across your iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Apple Music will start labeling songs created using AI platforms as “Made with AI.” The company sent a note to its industry partners this week informing them of the change.

The move will require record labels and artists to tag songs if they used artificial intelligence to create a “material portion of the content.”

ChatGPT on Mac can now work with the Messages app to read and send texts on your behalf. The integration also works with SMS and RCS messages.

You can install the Apple Messages plugin from the Plugins section in the ChatGPT Mac app.

Apple asked a federal judge to keep its trade secrets lawsuit alive Wednesday, saying OpenAI’s motion to dismiss relied “on distortion, speculation, and improper extrinsic evidence.”

Apple’s 32-page opposition brief, filed Wednesday, doubles down on Apple’s original accusations against two former Apple employees now working for OpenAI. It also sets up a key court hearing scheduled for October.

August 20, 2019: The Apple Card launch brings the titanium credit card to U.S. consumers for the first time. It gives them a new option for payments when Apple Pay isn’t available.

The iPhone’s Wallet app handles statements and payments. And the innovative card is “designed to help customers lead a healthier financial life,” according to Apple. Surveys show the card soon becomes beloved.

“We’re thrilled with the overwhelming interest in Apple Card and its positive reception,” says Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay, in a press release. “Customers have told us they love Apple Card’s simplicity and how it gives them a better view of their spending.”

If you want a reliable place to keep your photos, videos and other files, try Internxt Cloud Storage’s 10TB cloud storage plan. Instead of paying Apple or Google every month for a little extra space, you can get 10TB of secure cloud storage for life for a one-time payment of $269.97.

Yeah, it costs more than any single month of Google Drive or iCloud+, but you only pay once. Take a look at what makes this cloud storage a solid investment.

When I first reviewed Halo Collar 5 in fall 2025, I called it “simply the best GPS dog tracker.” Imagine my surprise that it got better. Since the product launch, Halo added Precision+, which makes tracking your pet even more exact.

It’s also a real benefit with Holo’s virtual fence feature.

I tested Halo Collar 5 with Precision+ added, and came away even more impressed.

That video of AirPods with cameras built in? Cool. But don’t expect to buy them anytime soon. Despite a leak that made AirPods with cameras look imminent, Apple is still holding the product for 2027. This year’s iPhone event won’t be the moment they show up.

If you were hoping to buy AI-powered earbuds alongside your next iPhone, you’ll have to wait. And that’s actually the more interesting story here: what almost shipped this year, and why it didn’t.

Fresh leaks apparently revealed practically everything there is to know about Beats 360 headphones. The as-yet-unannounced headphones feature a fresh new look, with rounder ear cups than previous Beats models and a customization option that sounds both colorful and cool.

The noise-canceling headphones — which Apple looks set to pitch as great for workouts, thanks to sweat- and water-resistance — appeared briefly on various online retailers’ sites Wednesday. Multiple Reddit users spotted them before they disappeared.

Apple may be planning to port the iPhone’s Camera Control button to a future version of the iPad. A newly granted patent shows a pressure-sensitive iPhone control mapped onto a tablet-shaped devices. This could hint at where Apple’s photography ambitions are headed next.

Obviously, a patent filing does not mention a release date or even confirm an upcoming product. But it does indicate that Apple already invested time engineering how the button could work on a much bigger device.

August 19, 2004: Google floats its initial public offering on the stock market. The Google IPO cements the company’s status as a tech giant, as founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin turn into instant billionaires.

Relations between Google and Apple are good at the time, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs serving as a mentor to the search company’s two young founders. Google’s Eric Schmidt will soon join Apple’s board of directors. However, the peace won’t last long.

Your iPhone can become a remote control for your iPad. It’s a convenient way to control a film or TV show playing on the tablet without having to get up off the couch.

And this doesn’t require a third-party application. All you need is Control Nearby Devices, a feature built into iOS and iPadOS.

Here’s how to do it.

UmanWrite is an AI writing platform that generates unlimited copy, learns your writing style for personalized results and even humanizes AI drafts. 

It checks your grammar and packs AI-detection tools that make sure your final text sounds both professional and human. And you can secure lifetime access for a one-time payment of just $79 (regularly $1,799).

Apple is reportedly developing a smart display that would act as a smart home hub, and details of the upcoming product’s widget gallery appear in code buried in the latest macOS beta. 

The discovery paints a clearer picture of how Apple’s first true smart display might work. It also gives us an idea of how the widget gallery might pull content straight from your iPhone, mixing Apple’s own apps with third-party widgets.

A new leak says the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s rumored variable-aperture camera won’t make it to the smaller iPhone 18 Pro.

The claim comes from a Weibo leaker with a strong track record on Apple hardware. The leaker also suggests Apple might limit a rumored upgrade to the Pro Max’s telephoto lens to the bigger phone, further widening the gap between this year’s Pro models.

Apple’s A20 Pro chip is shaping up to be a big leap forward. A new leak points to a significant jump in speed with a considerable cut in power use. This is the best look yet at the performance of a processor that will be critical to the success of Apple new flagship smartphones.

Built on TSMC’s 2-nm process, the chip is expected to make its debut in the iPhone 18 Pro lineup this fall. The upgrade should mean serious performance and battery gains, but it likely won’t come cheap.

August 18, 2007: A video goes viral on YouTube when 23-year-old internet personality Justine Ezarik, aka iJustine, posts a 300-page iPhone bill mailed to her in a box by AT&T.

The video of her reaction to the outrageous bill — which lists every single action that consumed cellular data on Ezarik’s brand-new iPhone — quickly racks up 3 million views and receives extensive media coverage. (You can watch it below.)

To get the most out of artificial intelligence, you must master the fundamentals with some serious AI learning sessions. You need to know how to write a better prompt, guide an AI coding agent and more.

The Ultimate AI Learning Bundle teaches you everything you need to know to take advantage of the AI revolution. It packs five courses and 11 hours of training. And for a limited time, it costs just $24.99, down from $145.

Apple rarely lets details about unreleased products slip out ahead of schedule. But every once in a while, the company accidentally spoils its own surprises.

That’s exactly what happened with the macOS 26.7 Release Candidate, which contains references to several unreleased Apple devices, including upcoming iPhones, Macs and smart home products.

A video file found in the new macOS 26.7 release candidate code gives us our first look at Apple’s upcoming AirPods with built-in infrared cameras. The video shows the AirPods Pro working in tandem with Visual Intelligence to let you save information about objects you see in the real world.

In the short demo, a man holds up a book so the AirPods’ cameras can identify its title. He then asks Siri to save it for later, showing how the IR cameras could give Apple’s earbuds a better understanding of the world around you.

Apple on Monday released iOS 26.6.1, a small but important update for iPhone users  focused on security rather than new features.

It also introduced macOS Tahoe 26.6.2 as well as iPadOS 26.6.1 to fix security bugs.

This heavily discounted LifeLock Core deal provides identity alerts, credit and dark web monitoring, recovery support and up to $1.05 million in identity theft coverage.

And right now, you can score 15 months of this trusted identity-protection service for just $99.99 (regularly $187.35).