iOS 26.5 launched Monday, bringing several minor but important usability improvements to your iPhone. The update adds 11 new Pride-themed wallpapers, a suggested places section in Apple Maps, and a new payment option for yearly app subscriptions.
Here are all the new features you can look forward to trying in iOS 26.5.
Apple TV’s Hollywood satire The Studio cemented its place in television history, claiming the International category at Sunday’s 2026 BAFTA Television Awards in London — the final major prize needed to complete the most dominant awards run ever achieved by a debut comedy series.
“The historic journey of ‘The Studio’ has been nothing short of astounding,” said Matt Cherniss, Apple TV’s head of programming. “The show’s sweeping success is a testament to the extraordinary talent, creativity and innovation of Seth, Evan and the entire creative team and cast.”
“The series has resonated deeply with audiences worldwide, bringing laughter to millions,” he added. “We couldn’t be prouder of the team’s monumental achievement and the way ‘The Studio’ has redefined what’s possible for comedy on a global scale.”
The M4 iPad Air that launched in March contributed strongly to robust growth in Apple’s tablet shipments.
As a result, the iPad’s share of the global tablet market increased. Approximately 2.5 times as many Apple tablets sold last quarter as the iPad’s biggest rival.
May 11, 1998: As part of his mission to turn Apple around, CEO Steve Jobs spells out the company’s strategy for the Mac operating system going forward. The big news is that Apple is hard at work creating a major new operating system called OS X, he says at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California.
However, first the company will ship Mac OS 8.5 and the first customer release of an OS called Rhapsody that fall.
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.
May 10, 1999: The third-generation PowerBook G3 comes in 20% slimmer and 2 pounds lighter than its predecessor, but most people remember the laptop for its glowing Apple logo and the “bronze” keyboard.
Although it doesn’t get a new name to distinguish it from previous laptops in the lineup, fans call it “Lombard” after Apple’s internal code name (or simply the “PowerBook G3 Bronze Keyboard”).
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.”
If you’ve noticed that the iPhone’s autocorrect has been especially bad over the last few months, you’re not alone. It appears that iOS 26.2 introduced a bug that made the keyboard much more frustrating to use. Luckily, the solution is simple. You can learn how to reset autocorrect on your iPhone really quickly.
First, you need to update to iOS 26.4, the release that fixed the iPhone’s autocorrect bug. Then, resetting your keyboard dictionary will get rid of any bad patterns it may have picked up since December.
Keep reading or watch our quick video.
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.
A fantastic AirPods Pro 3 deal drops Apple’s excellent noise-canceling earbuds back to a record-low price of just $199.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s a substantial $50 discount.
We’ve seen this deal come and go in recent weeks, and it’s back on now for who knows how long. If you want Apple’s best earbuds at the best price, jump on this deal before it disappears again.
AirPods Pro 3 bring new features, including Live Translation, a heart rate monitor, revved-up audio quality and redesigned ear tips for better active noise cancellation. Plus, like the previous model, they can even function as clinical-grade hearing aids.
Make no mistake: These are the best wireless earbuds you can buy for your iPhone, Mac and other Apple gear. Nothing can match how seamlessly AirPods integrate with Apple devices.
Essgoo’s 10-inch wireless CarPlay screen lets you upgrade practically any car in an instant. Whether you’re dealing with an old-school radio, a tiny in-car screen or, worse, no touchscreen at all, it’s time for an upgrade.
This 10-inch, full-HD touchscreen comes with a telescopic mount, so you can position it appropriately for safe driving. Or you can mount it on your dashboard with the included bracket, if that suits your car’s interior better.
Either way, it lets you easily add wireless Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto) and a touchscreen to any car — without an expensive trip to the dealership. And right now, you can get this 10-inch CarPlay screen for just $59.99 (regularly $89.99), with free shipping while stock lasts.
May 9, 2005: Apple quietly begins selling music videos in the iTunes Music Store.
The feature arrives with iTunes 4.8, initially offering bonus content for people purchasing albums through the store. It will take several months for Apple to start selling individual music videos, along with Pixar short films and a selection of TV shows, for $1.99 a pop.
There are two types of iPhone owners in the world: Those with a carefully manicured, minimalist Home Screen of perfectly arranged icons, and those with random icons spilled haphazardly across the screen.
If you find yourself among the latter group, you might think that it’s too late for you — that making a beautiful, aesthetic Home Screen is beyond your creative ability.
Well, cleaning up your iPhone’s Home Screen is a lot easier than clearing out your basement or organizing your kitchen junk drawer. A Home Screen that works better and looks better comes down to just a few simple tips. You can set one up in just minutes.
Here’s how.
Streaming is great until you want to watch something offline, save a show before it disappears, or avoid the limits most platforms put on downloads — that’s when you need a streaming downloader like Keeprix.
It works with Netflix, YouTube and other major streaming services, letting you save the videos you care about so you can watch them whenever you want. That means no dealing with ads, expiration timers or unreliable Wi-Fi. And a lifetime subscription to Keeprix is on sale for $95.99 (regularly $159.99).
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.
★★★★☆
The EZQuest USB 4 Dual Display 8-in-1 Hub is for Mac users who have gone all-in on USB-C ports. It boasts no less than seven high-speed ports and an eighth just for charging. And it takes up just one port on your Mac.
Unlike the USB-C ports in most hubs, EZQuest’s can be used for external screens, removing the need for HDMI. One or two displays are supported, depending on the computer the accessory is attached to.
As someone ready to dump all the old legacy ports, I happily put this product through testing.
May 8, 1997: Apple launches the PowerBook 2400c laptop, a 4.4-pound “subnotebook” that’s the MacBook Air of its day.
The PowerBook 2400c predicts the rise of speedy, lightweight notebooks, while also paying tribute to Apple’s past. Its design echoes the original PowerBook 100. Even years later, it remains a cult favorite among many Mac users.
In some ways, iPad is the most versatile computer Apple makes — which makes it an unusually rich ingredient in a Mac workstation. And as iPadOS grows ever more capable, more users find new, smarter roles for their tablet. The following 10 examples drawn from the Cult of Mac Setups archive represent the best uses of iPad in Mac setups. They show just how many ways the tablet can earn its place on a desk.
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.
Philips Hue and its sibling smart-lighting brand WiZ both get a new feature soon that could change how you watch the World Cup this summer, parent company Signify said Thursday. Called Sports Live, the software uses real-time match data to trigger lighting effects in your home whenever key moments happen on the pitch — goals, yellow cards, red cards — with no manual input or hardware required.
“With Sports Live, we’re moving beyond the traditional screen-based sync offering, broadening the role of smart lighting in at-home sports entertainment,” said said John Smith, business leader for Connected Lighting at Signify.
“By using live match data to trigger lighting in real time, we’re creating a new level of precision and immersion in how fans experience sports at home, making every match a truly memorable occasion,” he added.
Safari’s Hide Distracting Items feature lets you remove ads from your iPhone, along with other elements on the page that irritate you. It doesn’t require an ad blocker or a paid extension — Apple built it right into the browser.
Hide Distracting Items is not an ad blocker per se. But if pop-ups and other items that cover the page with no obvious close button pester you (like a cookie banner) Hide Distracting Items can come to the rescue. Here’s how to use it — keep reading or watch our video.