The Apple iPhone X was a huge deal when it launched back in 2017, much like the folding iPhone will be this year if it finally arrives. It marked the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and was the first major design change of that decade, too. It removed the Home Button at the bottom of the screen, for starters.

As a result, the iPhone X was the first iPhone to introduce Face ID, albeit with a notch at the top of the display rather than the neat and tidy Dynamic Island we have today.

What can we thank the iPhone X for?

It also reintroduced a more premium material for the iPhone again, opting for stainless steel over the aluminium frame we had seen on the iPhone 6, 7 and 8.

You could even argue that it was the device responsible for the Pro models we know today. It normalised the idea of a more expensive iPhone alongside the regular options and paved the way for the iPhone 11 Pro, which launched two years later after the iPhone XS.

It's safe to say, then, that the iPhone X wasn’t just any regular iPhone. But despite that, its time is up. Not from a software perspective – that happened back in 2022 with iOS 16 being the last software build to be supported – but from a parts perspective.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple has updated its “Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty” support article, and the iPhone X has been added to the obsolete product list. It was moved from the vintage product list.

That means Apple has discontinued hardware service for it, so service providers can no longer order parts.

Usually, products appear on this list about seven years after they are released. The vintage list of products is said to be for devices between five and seven years old, and while parts are still available to service these, they are limited.

With the iPhone X now coming up to nine years old, it’s had a good run, so it’s not too surprising to see it move to obsolete. It also leaves a great legacy behind, so we look forward to what the 2027 iPhone brings for the twenty-year anniversary.

Let’s just say it has some big shoes to fill.

Apple should soon announce its annual iPhone launch event, currently rumoured to be taking place on 9 September, but there will be one this missing this year – the iPhone 18.

It is widely expected that the next Apple presentation will unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and long-awaited iPhone Ultra. However, we'll more than likely have to wait until early next year for the standard model (as well as an iPhone Air 2).

That will disappoint some, with the price of the iPhone 18 Pro maybe proving too rich for those more budget conscious. Thankfully though, it looks like patience will be rewarded, with at least one industry expert predicting a couple of significant upgrades worth waiting for.

Analyst Jeff Pu has a decent track record of predicting Apple's intentions and he suggests that the iPhone 18 will arrive with Pro-level features.

Big upgrades heading to iPhone 18

According to 9to5Mac, which claims to have seen his latest research notes, there will be a notable change to the Dynamic Island, which will first be seen on the iPhone 18 Pro in the next few weeks.

The 18 Pro is said to be getting a smaller Dynamic Island to cut down on the screen-busting cutout. Its functionality will remain the same, but the pill-shaped black bar will be less obstructive when not in use (such as with the new Siri AI).

In addition, Pu claims the iPhone 18 could come with a healthy RAM boost, even during the global components crisis. He believes it will be upped to 12GB of RAM – 50% more than on the iPhone 17.

That's likely to ensure the phone works well with the new Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features coming with iOS 27 next month. It should also make the device more speedy to use generally.

It would also be a significant differentiator between the iPhone 18 and expected iPhone 18e model also expected early next year. That's tipped for 9GB of RAM.

Another renowned analyst, Ming Chi-Kuo predicted the standard model would come with 9GB, but that never made much sense – why not just buy the 18e in that case?

We'll probably have to wait a bit longer to see how this all pans out, with the iPhone 18, Air 2, and iPhone 18e currently tipped for next spring. However, at least we have Apple's first foldable to keep our attention first.

With less than a month left, Apple should soon announce the date it'll host its annual iPhone launch event and we'll finally get to see the much-rumoured iPhone Ultra. We certainly hope so, as the speculation is going overtime right now.

The latest concerns its front-facing cameras, of which there are claimed to be two, one on the outer display, one on the inner. And it's said that they'll be oddly placed – for an Apple device anyway.

That's because trusted leaker Ice Universe posted a brief video of alleged screen protectors for the forthcoming foldable on his X feed, and they reveal a couple of interesting aspects.

First, the camera hole on the outer display is in the top-right-hand corner – a first for Apple. Every other iPhone has had its camera, notch or Dynamic Island in the top centre. In addition, the camera on the inner display is also said to be ranged to one side.

This latter placement makes more sense – Apple would need to keep the sensor as far away from the hinge.

As 9to5Mac suggests, the manufacturer of the accessories could have got it wrong, or used its own guesswork, but Apple has never made anything like the iPhone Ultra before, so all bets are off.

The other odd element of the protectors is that they show a weirdly shaped display – round corners on one side and flat on the other. However, Ice Universe suggests this could be to protect the glass, but the display underneath might be rounded on each corner.

The hinge would have to have a flat edge, of course.

Some commenters actually like the idea of an irregularly-shaped iPhone though, with @NevamiZ going as far as knocking up a concept.

Whatever the outcome, we're sure the iPhone Ultra will prove to be a real talking point. And if you want to get an idea of the sort of thing it'll be capable of, you only need to check out our review of the similarly shaped and sized Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

As for the rest, we'll know for sure in just a few short weeks.

We’ve been hearing rumours of Apple announcing an Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub competitor for a while now. It was originally thought that the smart home hub would launch at the end of last year, and while that, of course, didn’t happen, the latest report suggests we could be getting closer to a reveal.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said in a report (via MacRumors) that Apple is developing a new operating system that blends tvOS, watchOS and iOS. It will specifically be for the rumoured home hub device.

What will homeOS offer?

Gurman said the OS, which has been dubbed homeOS, will have a grid featuring icons, apps and widgets along with customisable clock faces.

The HomePod home hub it is rumoured to land on is said to come with multi-user support and built-in facial recognition to distinguish who is interacting with it. It’s claimed personalised information will be presented depending on who is looking at it.

Gurman also said that the elements on the interface will automatically change size depending on whether a user is moving towards the hub or away from it.

Siri AI is claimed to be at the heart of the new device – which is not in the slightest bit surprising. And there will be features like FaceTime video calling, home security monitoring, management of HomeKit accessories and music playback also on board.

A photo gallery and calendar have also been reported to be coming to the device's 7-inch display.

As you might expect, the hub is claimed to feature some native Apple apps pre-installed, including Calendar, Camera, Music, Reminders, and Notes. None of those are particularly surprising, though the camera app is a little odd unless the screen can be detached from the HomePod speaker base.

The smart hub is rumoured to be launching sometime between October this year and early next, which feels more likely if the report on this new operating system is accurate.

All of this is merely speculation for now, but it's not often Gurman is wrong so fingers crossed.

During WWDC in June, Apple announced a number of new features coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch later this year, when the new software is released. The software will be iOS 27 for iPhone, iPadOS 27 for iPad, macOS Golden Gate for Mac and watchOS 27 for Apple Watch, and they are expected to arrive in their final form at some point next month.

But if patience is a virtue you don’t possess, you can sign up for Apple’s beta program, which lets you download the public betas of the software for each device and try out the new features before they officially arrive. For iPhone, we’re currently on iOS 27 public beta 3, after it was released at the beginning of this week.

What does iOS 27 public beta 3 add?

The headline addition in public beta 3 is Siri's voice customisation option, which was present but greyed out in earlier beta builds – it's finally been switched on.

You can now tweak how fast and expressive Siri sounds, choosing between two base voices. However, the feature is restricted to the iPhone 17 Pro models and iPhone Air, as it requires on-device processing (and that needs the A19 Pro chip). If you are running the beta on an older iPhone, you won’t see this option appear.

Elsewhere, as detailed by the MacRumors YouTube, Apple has introduced testing of Live Recognition, a new accessibility tool that uses the iPhone’s camera to identify and describe your surroundings in real time.

Photos gets a toggle for star ratings, letting you rate your favourite shots, while Control Centre now shows your cellular signal strength alongside Wi-Fi at the top of your screen.

There’s a neat new trick for AirPods owners too, with a handy Adaptive Audio slider (in the Liquid Glass style, of course) for balancing transparency and noise cancellation.

Reminders also gets a redesigned Liquid Glass icon, while the Lock Screen gets black icons at the bottom of the screen, switching from transparent to help them show up better.

You can sign up for the public beta on Apple’s beta website. However, if you’d rather wait, iOS 27 is expected to launch around the same time as the new iPhone models, usually in early September.

Although we're still awaiting official confirmation, Apple will host a launch event next month where it will undoubtedly reveal at least three iPhone models – the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and the much-rumoured iPhone Ultra foldable.

However, that won't be the end of its iPhone launch plans. It will follow those up with three additional devices over the coming months, with an additional three devices being spotted in iOS 27 code.

References to the six unreleased iPhones were found in the latest developer beta (iOS 27 beta 5) by Macworld. It claims to have found a lineup of internal codenames – V62, V63, V64, V67, V68, and V69 – in system files "related to the iPhone's battery drivers and Battery Intelligence features".

These codes are thought to directly relate to the iPhone Air 2, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 18, iPhone Ultra, and the iPhone 18e respectively.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have long been thought to be scheduled for the September launch event, along with the iPhone Ultra. However, speculation has long suggested that Apple will delay its other devices this year.

The iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 will follow early next year, it's claimed. While the iPhone 18e will likely arrive in spring, much like its predecessor. The trio could all launch at once, in fact.

We don't know much more about each phone, with no extra details found in the code so far. But the staggered release could make for an interesting few months for Apple fans, that's for sure.

When will Apple's September event take place?

We don't yet have an official date for Apple's next event, but the current thinking is that it will take place on Wednesday 9 September 2026 – that's according to Bloomberg's resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman.

As for pre-orders, although Apple tends to open orders on the first Friday after its events, the US will be marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, as it'll be 11 September at the end of that particular week.

It'll be more likely that pre-orders will start the week after this year. Or we might even have to wait a little longer for the iPhone Ultra, for example, as the RAM and components crisis has made production schedules hard to predict.

Either way, if you already have an iPhone capable of the new Apple Intelligence features – ie. the iPhone 15 Pro and up – you'll be able to download the full release of iOS 27 and get arguably Apple's biggest suite of software upgrades in years. That could keep you going while you wait.

We’ve heard plenty of rumours about the folding iPhone Apple is expected to be revealing next month, and there has been some chatter of the iPhone 18 Pro models thought to be launching alongside it, too. But Apple’s September event isn’t only about iPhone, with Apple Watch and AirPods often revealed at the same time.

The latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter focuses on the former, suggesting we might see a return of the ceramic Apple Watch for the Series 12. Gurman claims the ceramic case could be reintroduced this year, or failing that, in 2027.

What other upgrades can we expect from the Apple Watch Series 12?

His newsletter also adds that the Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 will continue "the trend of modest upgrades”, noting there would be "under-the-hood improvements”, which is presumed to be a new processor.

The Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 both used the S10 processor, which was largely the same as the S9 processor in the Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. It has also been claimed that a new colour and band options will be introduced this year, alongside some new health and fitness upgrades – nothing overly surprising.

Ceramic making a comeback would be a surprise, though.

It first appeared on the casing for the Apple Watch Edition model of the Series 2 way back in 2016. It was made from a compressed zirconia and alumina powder and polished in a diamond slurry. It was said at the time to be four times as hard as stainless steel.

A grey version appeared with the Series 3, before vanishing for the Series 4. The white ceramic then made a comeback for the Series 5 back in 2019, the same year titanium was introduced for the first time. That’s the last time we saw it, though.

Nothing is official yet, of course, but if Gurman is right, perhaps Apple Watch is going through a seven-year itch, and ceramic will be back to add a bit of spice. We can but hope; we were always fans of the ceramic.

Apple is reportedly considering a radical redesign for its Watch and could possibly introduce other fitness wearables.

The Apple Watch has maintained a familiar design since it first launched in 2015, with only the Watch Ultra deviating slightly, but Apple expert Mark Gurman suggests that could be about to change.

According to Gurman in the latest issue of his Power On newsletter, increased competition both in the smartwatch space and from other wearables companies, like Oura and Whoop, has given the company food for thought.

Its industrial design team, he says, has been "exploring a broader rethink of its smartwatches".

It is allegedly considering other form factors, such as a Fitbit or Whoop-style fitness device with no display. And different display shapes and sizes are also under consideration.

There's a thought that it will return ceramic back to the lineup, to complement aluminium and titanium at the premium end, and Gurman suggests that more affordable models could be introduced "besides the current SE model".

Could this result in a round-faced Apple Watch, a bit like the forthcoming Pixel Watch 5? That's a possibility. Many buyers have requested a round Watch in the past, so it's bound to be in Apple's thinking.

Of course, any radical changes won't be seen this year, with the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 expected to be unveiled in just a few weeks.

Those are likely to be very similar to previous models, but with a renewed focus on Siri AI – the new AI-powered version of Siri launching with iOS 27 and WatchOS 27.

We don't yet have an exact date for Apple's September event, where it is also expected to unveil the much-rumoured iPhone Ultra, but we'll bring you more when we have it.

It shouldn’t be too long before we see iOS 27 arrive in its final form. The upcoming software update for iPhone is currently available as a public beta, but it is expected to land around the same time as the next iPhone models. With previous patterns taken into account, that should be sometime in the first half of next month.

A number of new features will arrive with iOS 27, including a Liquid Glass slider so you can increase or decrease the transparency. There will also be new EQ settings for AirPods and photo editing features.

Now another new feature has appeared on the latest beta (via 9to5Mac) – iOS 27 is bringing GymKit to iPhone and AirPods Pro 3.

How does GymKit work with iPhone?

GymKit was first introduced for Apple Watch back in 2017, enabling compatible gym equipment to connect and securely share data with Apple’s smartwatch with a tap.

The Apple Watch provides the heart rate data, while the equipment fills in the other trackable details – such as incline on a treadmill, for example.

With iOS 27, GymKit is expanding to iPhone and AirPods Pro 3. This means that while anyone with an Apple Watch will still likely continue to use that, if you forget your watch at home or your battery is dead, you can still track your training. Compatible gym equipment can use heart rate data from AirPods Pro 3 while relying on your iPhone as the workout computer.

Having tried it out on the beta version, 9to5Mac said that while the exercise ring didn’t update when working out without an Apple Watch, it caught up when the smartwatch was put back on after. The Fitness app also updated with the right data.

Without AirPods Pro 3, the iPhone disconnected from the GymKit machine as there was no heart rate source. Also, when the site tried to start GymKit from iPhone with an Apple Watch on, it was pointed back to the Workout app on Apple Watch.

However, the setup of using an iPhone to connect to a GymKit machine was reportedly simple, with a quick tap like Apple Watch requires. That was followed by the selection of Indoor Run or Indoor Walk when connecting to a treadmill.

Apple notes during setup: “After the workout, data is stored privately and securely on iPhone and removed from the equipment.”

Remember, you will need a GymKit-compatible machine at the gym, a supporting iPhone and Apple AirPods Pro 3 with the heart rate permission turned on in settings. You’ll also need to be running iOS 27, which for now, is beta only.

However, this is all very promising for those who don't have an Apple Watch or have left theirs at home.

We’ve been waiting over two years for Apple’s new personalised, AI-powered Siri to arrive. The company first revealed it during WWDC 24, but following a number of delays, it never fully launched. Little was said about it at WWDC 25, but then at WWDC 26 this year, Apple showed off the new assistant in all its glory. It was better than many expected.

Rebranded as Siri AI, the new assistant will launch with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate and watchOS 27 when they arrive – likely next month alongside the new iPhones.

However, not all devices compatible with the new software will support Siri AI.

Your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch need to be able to support Apple Intelligence for Siri AI, and as 9to5Mac points out in a report, even then, some features, like the ability to customise Siri AI’s voice, will only be available on selected hardware.

What devices are compatible with Siri AI?

These are the models that will support Siri AI across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro – at least at the start.

• iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 16 and 16 Plus
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
• iPad Pro (M1 chip and later)
• iPad Air (M1 chip and later)
• iPad mini (A17 Pro)
• All Mac models with Apple silicon (M1 chip and later, and A18 Pro chip)
• All Vision Pro models
• Apple Watch Series 9 and later
• Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later
• Apple Watch SE 3

Note that Apple Watch needs to be paired with an Apple Intelligence supported iPhone to run Siri AI.

Here’s where the complications come in, though.

For some Siri AI features, including the ability to change the pace and expressivity, you will need specific devices. According to Apple, that's the “iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPad models with M4 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and Apple Vision Pro (M5)”.

So while Siri AI is almost here for older devices, it might be time to upgrade anyway.

Apple CarPlay has been available in cars since 2015, but until now, it hasn’t been available on boats.

That’s all about to change for those on the water. MasterCraft Boat Holdings’ premier pontoon brands – Crest and Balise Pontoons – has announced a partnership with the marine navigation app Savvy Navvy. Yes, that’s really what it’s called and what a name it is.

What boats will get CarPlay and when?

Anyway, back to the story. MacRumors picked up the news after it was announced during Crest Marine's annual dealer meeting and published on Business Wire.

The partnership will allow Crest and Balise boaters to sync the Savvy Navvy mobile app directly to the helm to access nautical charts, smart routing, active GPS tracking, live weather forecasts, and tidal data. The navigation screen will appear on the same screen as other CarPlay or Android Auto apps, and there’s a choice of day, night or satellite views to select from.

According to Jelte Liebrand, CEO of Savvy Navvy: “Boaters have been asking for a modern infotainment system for years. Plan your trip on the couch, step aboard, and it is already at the helm. No complicated ways to synchronise things; it just works.

"Savvy Navvy for CarPlay works on iOS and Android with any compatible display. I’m thrilled to see Crest and Balise put CarPlay in front of their boaters.”

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with Savvy Navvy compatibility will come standard on all new Balise and Crest Conquest and Caribbean models launching next month.

Boaters who buy a new 2027 Balise or Crest with CarPlay or Android Auto functionality will also get access to Savvy Navvy Premium, unlocking the range of features available within the app.

There are some big changes coming to the iPhone with iOS 27 when it launches later this year. There's Siri AI for starters, which I’ve found surprisingly helpful in my first beta experiences.

However, alongside the more contextualised Siri are updates to native apps, including new icons for Maps and Photos, a slider to increase or decrease the Liquid Glass effect, and new photo editing tools.

What will Captured by Me offer in Photos?

Look a little deeper into the Photos app though, and there are improvements coming here too. Shared albums and slideshows are being tweaked within iOS 27, but as spotted by 9to5Mac, there is also a new Captured by Me feature that effectively acts as a camera roll.

As its name suggests, this feature will present any photos or videos that you yourself have taken on your iPhone. You won’t see any screenshots or photos friends have sent you in this section, nor any other content, so there will be no dog memes or random screenshots you’ve snapped while doomscrolling.

The Captured by Me feature can be found in the Utilities section of the Photos app, and it’s present in the latest iOS 27 beta if you want to try it out for yourself.

There is also an option to filter by Captured by Me in the iOS 27 Photos app. If you tap on the Library tab at the bottom of the Photos app and then the filter icon in the top right (three lines), you will see Captured by Me appear in the list. Tap on that, and you’ll find all the photos and videos you’ve ever taken with your iPhone’s camera.

Apple hasn’t revealed exactly when the final build of iOS 27 will be released, but if previous years are anything to go by, it should be early September, alongside the launch of the new iPhones.

As mentioned though, if you can’t wait that long to try out the Captured by Me feature, you can download the public beta of iOS 27 now.

At the end of July, Apple rolled out a new subscription service to help you get your hands on the latest iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch. The catch is that, for now at least, it's a US-only affair.

Called Apple Upgrade, the scheme is essentially a device leasing plan. Rather than paying the full price upfront or spreading the cost through a traditional instalment plan, eligible customers pay a monthly fee to use a device, with the option to swap it for a newer model, buy it outright, or hand it back once the term is up.

The scheme is backed by buy-now-pay-later specialist Klarna and covers Apple's core hardware lineup. It's restricted to the latest models though, and not all of them are available (sorry MacBook Neo).

The iPhone and Apple Watch can be leased over 12 or 24 months, while Mac and iPad are available on 24- or 36-month terms. We assume that's because these devices are more expensive.

How much do devices cost on Apple Upgrade?

Entry pricing starts at $17.99 a month for iPhone, $11.99 for Apple Watch and iPad, and $24.99 for Mac. The exact amount depends on the model you choose and whether an old device is traded in to bring the cost down.

Those old devices can be an Apple device, as you would expect, but you can trade in an Android phone too.

Anyone signing up to Apple Upgrade will need to go through a soft credit check that Apple says won't affect your credit score. You should get approval within minutes, whether applying online or at a physical Apple Store, and there are a couple of perks available within the scheme. These include the ability to earn cashback through Apple Card if you use that for payment.

Notably, the launch spells the end of the road for the older iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments scheme in the US, both of which are being retired now that Apple Upgrade is live.

Which devices are included in the Apple Upgrade program?

Apple’s Upgrade program includes the latest Apple devices, including the iPhone 17 models, Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. You can also use it with the MacBook Air (M5) and iPad Pro (M5).

The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Apple Watch SE, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, iPad (A16), and Studio Display are not currently available as part of the Apple Upgrade program.

Will Apple Upgrade launch in the UK?

Apple is yet to mention whether it will be bringing the Apple Upgrade leasing scheme to the UK or anywhere else outside the US. The official announcement doesn’t mention international availability, and there's no confirmed timeline for a wider rollout either. Sad times.

There's is some hope, however. Apple's AppleCare One protection bundle launched stateside first before reaching UK, France, Germany and Australia a year later, so hopefully the Apple Upgrade program could follow the same playbook.

For now, UK buyers wanting to spread the cost of a new Apple device will need to stick with existing options, such as 0 per cent finance deals through Apple's retail partners or standard carrier contracts. Apple itself offers the Flexible Finance Account option for now.

This isn't anything new, but I'd like to think that the job of a tech journalist is to shine a light on issues in the industry, big and small – and in this case, it's actually shining lights that are the issues. I've been to the theatre a couple of times in recent months and each visit has brought a minor annoyance to my notice.

In any performance in a darkened room, whether it's live theatre or a cinema, most people know that it's obnoxious to take their phones out and check them – the light is a distraction for everyone, after all. That might not stop them, but there are plenty of announcements telling people to turn their phones off.

What we also need, though, is announcements telling people to use cinema mode on their smartwatches, and particularly on Apple Watches. I'm tired of seeing the flashes of screens waking as people shift in their seats, or indeed of older models with always-on displays that constantly glow out in the dark.

The mode is unbelievably easy to activate and deactivate on Apple's wearables, and I do it myself every time I go to an event – so I can attest that it's no great sacrifice.

As a reminder, if you click the side button on your Apple Watch (above the digital crown), you'll get access to your control centre. On here by default you'll see one icon that looks like two masks – one happy, one sad. That's a nod to historic symbols of the dramatic arts, and tapping it will activate cinema mode.

This will keep your watch's screen powered off unless you tap on it, and will also put it into silent mode. You'll still get haptics for notifications, but they won't disturb anyone around you.

Best of all, rather than tapping on the watch's screen if you want to check the time, you can instead turn the digital crown. As you turn it, the brightness will crank up from the bare minimum, so you can keep the disturbance to a minimum.

As I say, I get annoyed by someone's smartwatch literally every time I go to a dark-room event of any description, and I'm amazed that so few people seem to know about this mode and use it. Obviously, it might be that I'm in a silent majority by using it, since I'll never notice smartwatches that are turned down, but I'd still love it to be more widespread.

So, consider this a PSA, whether you knew about cinema mode or not – spread it around, and get more people using it if you can.

Apple is thought to be working on a new operating system that's going to power the anticipated Home Hub, which is expected to launch in late 2026 or 2027.

The move could see a long-awaited push in smart home from Apple, having originally struggled to gain traction through early HomeKit efforts, with slow evolution of devices like the Apple HomePod.

Rumours point to Apple launching a device with a screen - like the Echo Show - which will run the new operating system, thought to be called homeOS.

The details were revealed by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, laying weight to their probability. Accordingly, the interface will use a grid of icons, apps and widgets, with customisable clock faces.

It's expected that Apple's revamped Siri AI will be integrated into the system, bringing a welcome boost to the intelligence offered, and better competition with Alexa+ on Echo devices or Gemini on the new Google Home Speaker.

Additional details of the Apple Home Hub suggest that it will have a 7-inch display (which sounds rather small), while the size of the content will scale up or down depending how far you are from the screen. Amazon calls that Adaptive Content, pulling a similar trick on the Echo Show.

Another element that seems to be inspired by the Amazon Echo is facial recognition to personalise the content. Amazon has a Visual ID system that will see who is looking at the Echo Show and make adjustments for them - for example giving access to their personal calendar.

That at least suggests that there will be multi-user support, something that Apple hasn't always been good at in the past.

The new homeOS is expected on the Apple Home Hub, which is expected to launch alongside refreshed HomePod and Apple TV models, looking like a complete repositioning of Apple's smart home offering.

With Apple it's always difficult to pin down a launch date, but it's being suggested that Apple will target an event after the September launch of the iPhone, perhaps in October. We're also expecting to see a wide update of Mac models at the same time.

There's now an explanation for the delay to Apple's smart glasses. We previously reported that the Meta Ray-Ban rivalling glasses had been delayed, but now it seems that part of the reason is the concern over privacy.

Writing in his PowerOn newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says: "The teams developing glasses … see privacy as priority No. 1, I’m told", leaning on the fact that Apple has used privacy as core to its marketing for the last decade.

While Meta has enjoyed the buzz of getting the first AI glasses to market, it's facing a privacy backlash, especially with plans to release "super sensing" glasses that might always be recording video and audio.

Meta recently had to push an update to disable the cameras if the privacy LED was tampered with, addressing concerns about people using the glasses for nefarious use. It has been reported that wearers are recording people without their consent, with the camera integration into the glasses making it more difficult to see when someone is filming you.

That's led to smart glasses being banned in some settings, with further investigations into exactly how such glasses are regulated. For Apple, launching into this category gives them a chance to bring Siri to another device and boost the Apple ecosystem.

According to the report, Apple has prototyped glasses that don't have cameras available for photos or videos, so while calls can still be taken, music enjoyed and Siri interrogated, the privacy concerns are abated.

At the same time, removing the ease with which moments can be captured will also strip away the appeal. Currently, all the features offered by smart AI glasses, except capture, can be accessed through AirPods. Part of the appeal of smart glasses is you can record without a phone in your hand.

That means you can get great point of view video, perfect for things like sports or driving, cooking or anything else that involves using your hands. That's always going to be open to abuse and that seems to be the challenge that Apple is facing.

Meta hasn't made this category any easier: reports that humans conducting moderation and AI training work were watching intimate videos captured on the Meta glasses bring everyone's privacy fears to life, something that Apple needs to find a way around.

With privacy being Apple's core message for so long, it's going to be a bumpy road for any AI glasses that the company plans to release - especially if they include cameras.

Apple has been offering its Care+ device insurance around the world for many years, but its AppleCare One subscription plan has only been available in the US... until now.

The plan, which launched in the States a year ago, is now rolling out in the UK, Australia, Germany and France too. It enables owners of multiple Apple devices to cover them all for a single monthly fee.

It includes coverage for drops, accidental damage and even loss or theft, where the devices will be repaired or replaced at no extra cost. And the subscription covers up to three devices for a standard fee of £16.99 per month (in the UK), with additional products able to be added for £4.99 per month extra each.

That provides big savings on purchasing AppleCare+ for each separate device. For example, if you have an iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad, you will save up to £11.48 per month with AppleCare One against each being covered individually.

You can also swap an existing AppleCare+ plan for AppleCare One at any time.

It's also not exclusive to new devices – you can enroll products that are up to four years old, as long as they are eligible. That means they will have to be in a good condition at the time of inclusion, but can have general wear and tear. A diagnostics check may be necessary before they can be added.

Other Apple devices that can be covered include MacBook, HomePod, AirPods, Apple TV, and even an Apple Pencil.

What if I only have one Apple product?

Of course, this level of protection is not necessary if you only own one Apple device, but there's also a new version of AppleCare+ you might be interested in.

Available for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, the plan now includes theft and loss, so you can have your product replaced if stolen or missing.

The plan covers up to two thefts/losses per year, while AppleCare One covers up to three thefts or losses.

You can find out more about AppleCare One on the dedicated website. Those who've recently bought an Apple device or have an existing AppleCare+ subscription can sign up or switch over directly on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.

For the last couple of months, there have been no end of reports on the rumoured iPhone Ultra. We’ve seen everything from dummy leaks to give us an idea of what it could look like, to specification rumours to let us know what we can expect in terms of things like screen sizes.

Most reports of late haven’t focused on whether Apple will launch a folding phone (that much appears to be clear) but on when. And there have been a few about its release date, with claims that could be significantly delayed, slightly delayed, or barely delayed at all.

Will the iPhone Ultra be delayed, or won't it?

Now it seems to be been flipped again. A report on DigiTimes (via 9to5Mac) suggests the delay could be back on.

DigiTimes writes that “Foxconn is now carrying out 'final mass-production adjustments' for the device”, which could lead to "production hurdles".

However, there is nothing in the report to confirm whether those adjustments are routine or an issue. So unfortunately, we are back to things being a little up in the air.

We're choosing to look at this positively though.

Samsung has just announced its latest folding phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a new, wider format. It is widely thought this new shape will be showcased on the iPhone Ultra too, offering a squarer phone when folded and an iPad mini-like aspect when unfolded.

So with Samsung having put its marker down, all eyes are now on Apple and what it will bring to the folding phone space. Sure, the phone might release a little later than the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro XL, to give those devices a chance to sell, but we suspect the “final mass-production adjustments” won’t stop us seeing a folding iPhone this year.

If it is indeed on the cards.

Apple is planning to refresh all of the Mac models that it offers, with an onslaught of updates planned for the latter half of 2026 and into 2027. That's going to include new M6 chips in some models, as well as the introduction of an OLED model that supports touch.

We've previously reported on Apple's plans for a high-end MacBook Pro model that could adopt the name MacBook Ultra. This is said to come in 14- and 16-inch sizes, with the internal names K114 and K116.

The launch window isn't exactly known as yet, but it's said it will be between the end of 2026 and early 2027. It's also thought to be powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

The details come from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who details that the first models to launch will be the refreshed version of the current MacBook Pro. That will see the debut of the Apple M6 chip, but the design will, in the short term, remain the same.

However, there's a replacement for the base MacBook Pro in the works too, with plans to launch this in 2027.

The staggered launch of what appears to be the same product line might be confusing, but it seems that Apple's focus is on getting the M6 into the hands of consumers, before updating the design to match the new MacBook Ultra. That might cause some who are planning an update to wait to see the new design before committing to a purchase.

Apple will also release a redesigned MacBook Air, it's claimed, which is slated for an early 2027 release.

Both 13- and 15-inch models are expected and it's said that the design "will closely resemble the current version" which some might be disappointed with. That's considering the dramatic design that the MacBook Air has offered in the past and the current likeness to the MacBook Pro.

An OLED MacBook Air is reportedly in the works, but this isn't expected until 2028.

Finally, the MacBook Neo will also be updated to keep it fresh, although plans are less certain. It's said that a model with the A19 Pro chip (which powers the iPhone 17 Pro) is in testing, but given the recent launch of the Neo, it's unlikely to appear soon. Apple will likely change the colour to retain its appeal.

Apple's desktop models are also getting updated

It's not just MacBook models that are in the frame for updates, Apple's desktop computers are also in the works. Gurman says that's going to start with refreshed iMac models, launched alongside the updated base MacBook Pro. It will likely benefit from the M6, but there's no mention of a redesign.

In the future, there are plans for an iMac with OLED display.

The Mac mini and Mac Studio are also in line for a refresh, with the M5 Pro and M6 in testing for the mini, while the Studio is testing the M5 Max and M5 Ultra. However, it's said that the supply situation makes the timeline for these updates less certain. The Mac Studio has been popular with those running AI applications, so demand is high.

That's a huge run of updated models planned by Apple, so to clarify, here's a timeline of what to expect when based on the information we have so far:

• 2026: MacBook Pro M6
• 2026: iMac M6
• 2026/2027: MacBook OLED M5 Pro, M5 Max
• 2026/2027 (?): Mac mini M5 Pro, M6
• 2026/2027 (?): Mac Studio M5 Max, M5 Ultra
• 2027: MacBook Air M6
• 2027: New MacBook Pro M7
• 2027/2028: MacBook OLED M7 Pro, M7 Max
• 2028: New MacBook Air OLED
• TBC: MacBook Neo A19 Pro

References to a battery health feature deep in the iOS 27 beta code have given a big hint to Apple's future folding phone plans with a reference to "batteries". That pluralisation might seem like nothing, but it could point to the split cell arrangement of batteries in a folding phone.

Apple is thought to be preparing its first folding phone, generally known as the iPhone Ultra. Traditionally, the battery in book-type folding phones is split in two, so there's a cell in each half of the phone to make the best use of space.

That's led MacWorld, which found the code, to believe that this references the iPhone Ultra. The code string discovered says: "The batteries in this iPhone are performing as expected".

This is exciting because no iPhone model currently has multiple batteries, so it's thought that this feature might be to support and monitor the split cells in the iPhone Ultra.

This isn't the first time that references have been made to features that a folding iPhone might offer – previously we saw references to fold state and display numbers in the code.

Apple is expected to launch a 4:3 aspect folding phone, shorter and wider than we've seen from most other manufacturers in the past – more like a folding iPad mini.

The iPhone Ultra is expected to sit at the top of Apple's range price wise, above the iPhone 18 Pro Max that it's expected to launch alongside in September. It's said to have a 7.8-inch internal display and a 5.5-inch cover screen.

As is always the case with Apple, it's hard know what the company is planning until launch day, so there's no shortage of speculation out there.

But to play devil's advocate, there's a further explanation that might apply to the use of the word "batteries". Apple is known being rather conservative with its batteries and charging speeds, but one of the things that enables faster charging is a dual-cell battery.

This splits the battery into two storage cells and it allows for faster charging because there's the potential for better heat management. That also typically allows for higher capacity batteries too.

It could be that the reference to "batteries" is this, with Apple planning to support faster charging speeds on future devices with a dual-cell design.

However, with so much speculation pointing to Apple's entry into the folding phone segment – including brands changing their own folding phones to match Apple's plan – it's highly likely that this is, in fact, pointing towards Apple's iPhone Ultra with a battery in each half of the phone.

Apple could be preparing to launch multiple new smart home devices next year, according to AppleInsider. After years of rumours and only whispers of an updated HomePod, it would certainly be welcome news for anyone invested in the Apple Home ecosystem.

According to the report, Apple is planning to refresh both the HomePod mini and Apple TV as early as 2027, whilst the long-awaited Apple Home Hub is expected to make its debut later in the year. If true, it would mark Apple's biggest smart home push in quite some time.

As with most Apple rumours, nothing is confirmed just yet. September's iPhone keynote could give us our first hints, although AppleInsider's Wesley Hilliard believes the announcements are more likely to arrive during a Mac-focused event in October, where Apple Home could get its own dedicated segment.

The rumoured Apple Home Hub is expected to launch as a standalone smart display that can be paired with a range of accessories, including speakers, wall mounts and articulated arms. Last year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also reported it would be priced around $350 or £300, though Apple is apparently still exploring ways to reduce costs before launch.

For now, it's all speculation, but we'll be keeping a close eye on Apple's upcoming events. With just a few months until keynote season begins, hopefully we won't have long to wait before learning what the company has planned.

The Apple TV and Apple Music apps for Android have been updated and there are a couple of new features that come with the new versions.

Leading the excitement are new home screen widgets, including a "continue watching" carousel so you can quickly get back to what you were watching, with a couple of different sized widgets to choose from.

Elsewhere, there's a larger widget that includes artwork which looks great, ideal to just tap back into that show you were enjoying. The new additions come with Apple TV version 2.5 in the Play Store and were highlighted by 9to5Google.

In addition to Apple TV's update, there's an update to Apple Music, moving to version 6.5. This isn't numerically sequential, suggesting that Apple is aligning this with the version number on iOS, to make everything neat and tidy.

Again, widgets get all the attention, letting you quickly get to your pinned items, while you can also dive right into live radio, joining the existing list of widgets offered on the service.

Apple sharing the love to Android users

The updates will be welcomed by those users on Android, giving the ability to get to those services a little faster, with more direct access to the actual content that you want.

Widgets have long been a feature of Android devices, with the first Android phones offering great customisation of the home screen environment. That includes plenty of widget options.

For many years, that stood in stark contrast to iPhone, where the home page was dominated by app icons. Apple introduced folders in 2010, but it was a further 10 years before the iPhone embraced widgets, with greater customisation offered in iOS 14.

For Android users, adding a widget is easy, accessible through the home screen controls – often accessed by long pressing on the wallpaper. That offers a range of customisations, including the ability to browse and drop widgets onto the page.

Widgets are typically listed by the app or service, so they're easy to find.

Apple TV was added to Android with a native app in 2025, having first launched in 2019. Meanwhile, Apple Music made a much quicker move, with Apple releasing the Android app a couple of months after the service launched on iOS.

There have been plenty of rumours surrounding the folding iPhone of late, with most suggesting we will finally see the device launch in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. It’s also thought that the iPhone Ultra, as it will likely be called, will have a slightly different aspect ratio to most folding phones, opening up to look similar to the iPad mini.

But speaking of the iPad mini, that device has also been the subject of the rumour mills recently. It’s previously been reported that the next generation of Apple’s smallest tablet will arrive before the year is out, but now Bloomberg has narrowed that window down.

When will the iPad mini with OLED arrive?

As picked up by 9to5Mac, the Bloomberg report says the iPad mini, which is rumoured to be upgraded with an OLED display, will launch as soon as October.

Bloomberg says: “Apple is preparing to unveil the new OLED iPad mini [code-named J510] as early as this fall, with a release planned by October.”

It also added that the Cupertino company is working on adding an OLED display to the iPad Air, too, but it is “not currently working on a base iPad with OLED". That will likely stick to LCD.

The iPad Air with OLED is expected to be released later than the iPad mini with OLED however, with Bloomberg claiming it'll instead arrive in "the first calendar quarter next year". We should also expect a new processor.

This follows a previous report where Bloomberg claimed Apple was working on updates to its Apple Pencil models, and those were mentioned again in the latest claims. It is also suggested the iPad mini price could increase.

It already starts at £599 today, following Apple's price hikes a few weeks ago. It's worth noting though, even if Apple bumps up the starting price for the OLED technology on the iPad mini, it's still likely to be considerably cheaper than the folding iPhone.

Of course, nothing is official until we hear it from the horse's mouth, so there will still be a few months to wait until we find out whether a new iPad mini is coming and how much it will be.

There was a lot to love about the MacBook Neo when it first launched, not least its price. While unfortunately, that has now increased by £100 (we can thank the AI boom for that), it’s still a very capable laptop that offers a couple of pleasing quirks that other MacBooks in Apple’s range don’t.

There's a colour-matched keyboard, for starters, and similarly matched menus in macOS.

But while Apple clearly had colour in mind when it designed the MacBook Neo, given it’s the only MacBook to be offered in brighter and more vibrant colours than grey and silver (the Sky Blue MacBook Air is an exception, though this is basically a bluey silver), the company doesn’t have any official matching accessories available to complement the Blush and Citrus Neo options.

What do the Satechi MacBook Neo accessories offer?

But don’t worry, renowned accessory manufacturer Satechi has come to the rescue.

As spotted by Yanko Design, Satechi has a MacBook Neo Collection that features three accessories, all of which are available in the four Neo colours: Indigo, Citrus, Blush and Silver. There are two USB-C hubs and a wireless mouse.

Now, if you’ve been considering the MacBook Neo, or you have already invested, you’ll understand why a USB-C hub might come in handy. The entry-level MacBook only has two USB-C ports of its own (plus a 3.5mm headphone jack), but the Satechi USB-C Snap Hub connects to both, allowing it to then sit flush against the side of the Neo.

It has a colour-matched aluminium finish on top and the same soft-touch ABS material as the Neo’s keyboard underneath. It then replaces the Neo’s two USB-C ports with six different alternatives, including a 4K/60Hz HDMI output, USB-A, USB-C, SD and microSD card slots, and 45W pass-through for charging.

The OntheGo 5-in-1 Multiport Adapter, meanwhile, is circular, connects to one of the Neo’s single USB-C ports via a braided cable, and its ports include a 4K/60Hz HDMI output, 60W USB-C pass-through charging, dual 5Gbps data ports, and an SD card reader.

It also has a magnetic base so it will snap onto the back of a MagSafe-compatible iPhone or the lid of the Neo.

Last but not least, the Slim EX Wireless Mouse has a colour-matched aluminium body, a USB-C rechargeable battery, quiet click switches and a precision-machined scroll wheel.

The Satechi MacBook Neo collection is available in the US now, with the USB-C Snap Hub and OntheGo 5-in-1 Multiport Adapter both costing $44.99, while the Slim EX Wireless Mouse costs $29.99. UK availability has not yet been announced.

Apple will reportedly release a new iPad mini later this year, according to several rumours flying around, but one leaker has also revealed some less welcome news.

The iPad mini 8 could feature a significant upgrade by adopting an 8.4-inch hybrid OLED display – the current model comes with an IPS LCD panel. This would give it improved black levels and colour saturation, while an LTPS back panel could ensure it is capable of brighter images, too.

However, according to Korean tipster yeux1122 (via MacRumors), the OLED panel used will continue to be locked to 60Hz. This allegedly comes from the display supply chain, with "mass production" said to be "underway".

The iPad Pro models have used OLED panels for a while, but they're capable of 120Hz refresh rates. Same with the iPhone 17 models (bar the 17e). So it seems a shame that a device that is be seen as an all-rounder might miss out.

Can 60Hz still cut it in the face of the competition?

Rival tablets of its size often have panels capable of at least 120Hz. The gaming-centric RedMagic Astra goes up to 185Hz, in fact. And that sports an OLED display, as well.

Hopefully though, Apple will manage to keep the price down. It has recently raised prices across most of its products, in response to the ongoing global components crisis, but the iPad mini is traditionally its more accessible tablet.

And, with the iPhone Ultra looming large, which is effectively a foldable iPad mini, surely the actual iPad mini will be now seen as an alternative for those that can't justify the Ultra's expected costs (over $2,000, it is said).

We should find out soon enough, with previous suggestions that the new mini will arrive in October, along with a potential MacBook Pro refresh. We'll keep you up to date with any further goings-on in the meantime.

Apple announced iOS 27 during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June and with it, several new features that will be coming to compatible iPhones later this year. But you don’t have to wait to try many of those new tricks, the public beta is now available to sign up for and download.

Yes, beta software can be buggy (the idea is that the more people who test and report these glitches, the better the final software should be when it arrives), but if you don’t mind the odd crash or stall, the iOS 27 beta is well worth downloading.

Siri AI is one reason for this – I have been running the developer beta of iOS 27 since WWDC and have been very impressed with what Siri AI has managed to do so far.

It found a restaurant I went to in Barcelona, a recipe my mum sent me in 2023, and told me when I was free for lunch in July. But there are other great features coming with iOS 27 you'll want to try too. Here are three of my favourites.

Clean Up in Photos

Apple released the original Clean Up in 2024, allowing you to remove unwanted objects from the background of photos, like a bin or bench that ruins your shot. It was pretty good, but with iOS 27, it’s much more convincing.

It can remove larger objects and fill in the space more accurately. You can also use it on older images, so if you have a picture from a holiday a couple of months or years ago, with a pesky tourist in the background ruining your otherwise excellent selfie, give it a try and you might be surprised.

Change the way your AirPods sound

AirPods have always sounded pretty decent in my opinion, but the iOS 27 public beta allows you to tweak the way they sound to your preferences.

There is a new Custom EQ setting available with the software, allowing you to fiddle with the mids, highs and lows. The setting will work on AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2.

Automatically change compromised passwords

The iOS 27 public beta has a feature that enables Safari to change any compromised passwords for you automatically. This might not sound like a big deal, but I have 500 compromised passwords apparently, and the main reason I have so many is that I haven’t found the spare time change each one in turn.

This feature is therefore enough of a reason on its own to download the new software, for security reasons if nothing else.

How to get the iOS 27 public beta

To download and install the iOS 27 public beta, head to Apple's public beta website.

Once you're signed up, you’ll need to head to Settings > General > Software Update and then choose the ‌iOS 27‌ Public Beta to install the update.

I do recommend backing up your phone though, so you can switch back to iOS 26 should you want to.

If you can't wait for the new features coming when the iPhone 18 models launch this September, there's good news. You don't have to wait any longer!

Apple has just released its first Public Beta of iOS 27 and if you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you can download it now. Public Betas are available without the usual restrictions of the developer Betas, and can be downloaded from the same menu as regular OS updates.

To try it for yourself, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update, and select the Beta updates option. Once this is selected, you will be able to download the public beta. It is recommended to back up your phone before doing this, and note that not all apps will work correctly at first. So if you need access to certain apps, especially for medical use, it's best not to download a beta.

AI Assistant

The biggest change for iOS 27 is the new Siri AI assistant. This is powered by Apple Intelligence but has been built with Google Gemini, so is expected to offer a similar amount of power to the Google system, while remaining safely within the Apple ecosystem.

Siri AI is designed to better answer your queries with a more conversational approach, understand personal context, control features and commands in apps and access a wider pool of topics on whatever comes to mind.

There's now also a dedicated Siri app, where you can review previously asked questions and pick up the thread again, or keep for reference. you can also adjust how Siri sounds more comprehensively, including pitch, speed, tone and accent.

You can also try the new Siri for yourself by heading to Settings > Siri and select "Try the new Siri (Beta)".

More iOS 27 features

In addition to the Siri AI, iOS 27 introduces new photo editing features, allowing you to reframe your shots after taking them, including using the Extend feature, using AI to expand beyond what you actually have taken. The clean up mode has also been enhanced to provide a more accurate object removal process.

Image Playground now goes beyond creating fun versions of your portraits. You can create high quality images of just about anything you can describe in a range of photo styles, including photo realistic options.

Beyond Siri, the new OS can provide suggestions in the form of quick actions from messages and mail, to do things like add to reminders, create a calendar event or search for a photo. The Call context can also provide relevant information such as confirmation codes and booking references from your email while on a call.

There's also stronger child safety features for parents to keep kids safe, with restrictions on time allowances and schedules, and easy adjustments on the go.

The design has also had a refresh, with updates to the look of Liquid Glass , and the system is designed to work faster, with up to 30% faster app launches, 70% faster photo loading and 80% faster AirDrop transfers.

Compatible devices

• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Mondays aren’t usually a day most people would say they enjoy all that much, but they are always a good day for Apple rumours. Why? Because Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman publishes his Power On newsletter on Sundays, and it usually has a little bit of gossip on what we can expect from the Cupertino-based company over the next couple of months.

This week, the hot topic is the Apple Pencil – or Pencils, plural. That might not be quite as exciting as a folding iPhone, or speculation on what the next hero colour could be for the iPhone 18 Pro models, but the Apple Pencil is still a great accessory for anyone who likes drawing on an iPad.

What's the latest for Apple Pencil?

Gurman claims in his latest newsletter that Apple is working on two new Apple Pencil models. The two stylus options are expected to be announced next year alongside the next version of the iPad Pro so there’s still a little time to wait, but they are expected to succeed the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the Apple Pencil Pro.

According to Gurman, who has an uncannily good track record with Apple rumours, the new models will feature “new battery systems”. It’s thought this is to meet upcoming EU requirements aimed at making batteries user replaceable.

It is unclear whether how the new Apple Pencil models will meet the guidelines, but we suspect more details will leak over the upcoming months. After all, the regulations come into force in February next year.

Gurman didn’t offer any further details on what other features the new Apple Pencils might offer, but we would be surprised if there weren’t more improvements coming other than just a battery upgrade.

The Apple Pencil with USB-C arrived in November 2023, and it stands as the entry-level model, while the Apple Pencil Pro sits at the top of the Pencil range, launched in May 2024.

For now, nothing has been confirmed by Apple, but if you’re hoping for new Apple Pencil models, we hope this news made your Monday a little better.

Home Assistant has announced that its Companion app will soon drop support for a number of older Apple operating systems. The change will arrive with Version 2026.8.0, with version 2026.7.1 becoming the final release to support iOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS 11.

The move follows Apple's recent decision to end developer tool support for watchOS 8 and macOS 11 from September, making it increasingly difficult for developers like Home Assistant to continue building and maintaining apps for those platforms.

Home Assistant hasn't confirmed exactly when version 2026.7.1 will finalise, but it has confirmed that it will be the final release compatible with iOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS 11 before version 2026.8.0 becomes the new version.

The good news is that Home Assistant has claimed fewer than 1% of users still run these older operating systems, so by ending support, the team can focus its development efforts on the platforms most people actually use.

That said, if you're using an unsupported Apple device, you won't lose access to Home Assistant completely. The platform's web interface will continue to work as normal and will still receive its regular monthly updates. Version 2026.7.1 will also remain on the App Store, and its source code will stay on GitHub for anyone who wants to compile the app themselves.

Anyone remember yo-yos? That’s what it feels like when we write up the rumours surrounding the folding iPhone. Will the iPhone Ultra launch this year? Will it be available to buy immediately? Are there issues with the hinge? Has it entered mass production? All these questions have contradicting answers out there on the web.

For example, it was only the beginning of the week where we reported that while the proposed Ultra is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September, it was unlikely you’d be able to get it on day one.

Supply chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple will have very limited supply at launch “with 3Q26 shipments at 0.5 - 1 million units”.

All is not lost

But now, a new report by MacRumors claims the iPhone Ultra is back on track to ship in September.

Apparently, Chinese financial title Cailian Press, has spoken to a number of sources within Apple’s supply chain, and they've confirmed the device is in mass production.

This was supported separately by East Money, another Chinese outlet, as well as The Bell, which is based in Korea. The MacRumours report also said that Foxconn, which is typically the assembly partner for iPhone, has been on a mass hiring spree.

Cailian Press revealed sources it had spoken to weren’t aware of any delay and a September window is therefore on track.

We still wouldn’t be overly surprised if you will need to be quick off the mark to make sure that’s the case, though. While Samsung and Google has been making foldable phones for some time now, especially in the case of Samsung, this will still be a first for iOS fans and that could make it more popular than expected.

But it’s good news that we could see the new device sooner than previously suggested. And we’d rather it wasn’t too tricky to buy, as that’s no fun for anyone.

Let’s hope instead that this is the last time we pull our yo-yo up before September, though we suspect there will still be more news on this until things are made official.

Apple's latest watchOS 27 developer beta, announced at WWDC 2026, doesn't introduce a long list of headline-grabbing features, but it does mark an important milestone for the software.

The third beta is the first to enable Apple's new Siri AI experience on the Apple Watch, while also delivering a handful of practical refinements that make the smartwatch feel a little more intuitive in everyday use.

The biggest addition is Siri AI, which is now available to developers testing watchOS 27 on supported Apple Watches paired with an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone.

Siri can now understand follow-up questions, maintain conversational context, and deliver more natural responses.

Apple has also introduced a dedicated Siri app, making it easier to interact with the assistant directly from the wrist instead of relying solely on voice commands.

Siri gets smarter in more ways than one

Alongside the AI upgrade, developers have also spotted a small but welcome improvement to one of Siri's longest-standing frustrations.

Until now, asking Siri to add time to an active timer would usually prompt the assistant to ask users to specify a new duration.

In watchOS 27 beta 3, Siri now understands requests such as "add five minutes to my timer" or "give me another minute", making it much more useful when cooking, exercising or tackling jobs around the house.

Another useful improvement is better continuity between devices.

Conversations started with Siri on the Apple Watch can now continue on a paired iPhone without losing context, helping Apple's assistant feel more like a single experience across its ecosystem rather than separate versions running on different devices.

Beyond these additions, beta 3 is primarily focused on refinement, with developers reporting improvements in Siri's responsiveness, alongside the usual collection of bug fixes, performance enhancements, and battery optimisations.

While this isn't the most feature-packed beta Apple has released, it gives the clearest indication yet of what using Siri on the Apple Watch will look like when watchOS 27 launches later this year.

watchOS 27 is only available on Apple Watch Series 9 and newer, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and the Apple Watch SE 3.

watchOS 27 is currently available as a developer beta, with a public beta expected later this month. The full release is expected to arrive in September alongside Apple's next-generation Apple Watch models.

Anyone can now try the watchOS 27 developer beta by signing up for a free Apple Developer account. There's no longer a paid membership requirement to access Apple's developer builds.

[via NotebookCheck]

Although its products were mostly beige in the 70s and 80s (a colour it called "putty"), Apple has since embraced colour with a passion.

Essentially starting with Sir Jony Ive's crazy ideas to add vibrant hues to iMac cases, the company has since released its products in all manner of colourful themes. Indeed, some of them – such as the most recent Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro – have proved more popular than the standard models.

And the Product Red devices have raised more than $270 million (£201 million) for the fight against AIDS over the last two decades, showing there's more than just an expanded range at stake.

I myself am a sucker for a different colour when it comes to phone and devices upgrades – and I'm looking forward to seeing if Apple does indeed have a scarlet iPhone 18 Pro up its sleeve this year. But until then, it's also worth taking a look back, as seeing the different colours Apple's adopted over the years is a fun and fascinating exercise for lovers of tech design.

Thankfully, Akash Wadhwani and The Data Drop has made it very simple for us to do just that. The site is a cornucopia of intriguing, interactive collections wrapped in gorgeous design – and the latest shows every colour of every Apple device since those infamous iMacs.

Like a virtual museum, it takes us through the history of Apple's most colourful creations, from Mac and iPod to iPhone and Apple Watch. And click on any of the products and you get information on the colour and release date.

It's a great collection – like a Where's Wally (Waldo) for Apple lovers.

And to be fair, it's a beacon of brightness at a time when prices are soaring, stock is shrinking, and tech launches are becoming fewer and farther between.

The only thing we will say though, perhaps it's for the best that Apple ditched that strange baby nappy brown chosen for the second-gen iPod Shuffle. We'd keep it that way.

Apple has overhauled the engine behind RAW photography on iPhone, and the before-and-after examples shown during a developer session at WWDC 26 (via 9to5Mac) suggest it could outperform what dedicated professional cameras produce straight out of the box.

Shooting in RAW means the unprocessed data is saved straight from a camera's sensor rather than a compressed JPEG, which allows photographers to push exposure, colour and white balance much further in editing without the image falling apart.

Apple builds this processing into the operating system itself via its Core Image framework, and the pipeline already knows how to handle the quirks of nearly 800 different camera models, from third-party mirrorless bodies to iPhones’ own sensors.

That pipeline is getting its ninth rework with iOS 27, arriving alongside macOS 27 and iPadOS 27 later this ‘fall’. Apple engineer David Hayward introduced RAW 9 during the session "Enhance RAW image processing with Core Image," describing it as the company's biggest step forward yet in this area.

You can watch the full session on the Apple Developer site should you wish to, but in a nutshell, RAW 9 will see a single machine-learning model handling both sharpening fine detail and stripping out noise, running on the iPhone's Neural Engine chip.

What will RAW 9 be able to do?

The session had some examples to show what RAW 9 would be capable of too, including a Canon 5D Mark III image of a crayon box captured at ISO 51,200, a setting that usually leaves colour data a bit of a mess.

Apple's outgoing RAW 8 engine salvaged the scene to some degree, but RAW 9 cleanly separated out each individual crayon colour, right down to capturing the shine on their surfaces.

In a second example, embroidery yarn shot on a Fujifilm X-T5 presented sharper lettering and far cleaner texture under the RAW 9 system.

That’s not even the best news though. RAW 9 will work with existing RAW photos already sitting on your phone, so when iOS 27 lands later this year, those photos will be able to be reprocessed and you might be surprised with how much better some shots could become.

Apple has confirmed that its upcoming Apple Intelligence smart home features will only be available with its top-tier 2TB iCloud+ subscription. Whilst the company previously revealed that the new AI tools would require iCloud+, it hadn't specified which plan users would need.

Unveiled at WWDC last month, the new features will bring AI-generated video summaries and natural language search to HomeKit Secure Video, making it much easier to find specific moments in your security camera footage by simply typing a phrase.

However, rather than being included with the standard HomeKit Secure Video plans, these Apple Intelligence features will now be exclusive to subscribers on the 2TB iCloud+ tier.

The 2TB plan currently costs £8.99/$9.99 per month, compared to the entry-level 50GB iCloud+ plan, which starts at just £0.99/$0.99 per month. There's also a 200GB tier for £2.99/$2.99 per month, which supports up to five HomeKit Secure Video cameras.

That means the upgrade isn't quite as affordable as many people had hoped, particularly when you compare it with the subscription plans offered by some rival smart home brands.

That said, the 2TB tier does support an unlimited number of HomeKit Secure Video cameras. So, if you've already invested heavily in Apple's ecosystem, the higher monthly cost may be easier to justify.

We’re just a couple of months out from September (we know, the year flown by) and if you follow the technology launch calendar, you’ll know that means a couple of things.

First, we should see some new foldable phones and potentially smartwatches from Samsung soon, with its next Galaxy Unpacked event taking place on 22 July. Second, Google should treat us to some new Pixels, probably sometime in August. And lastly, Apple’s next iPhones should follow in September, and with a little twist to the norm this year, too.

Will the iPhone Ultra launch the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro?

It is widely speculated that Apple will finally introduce a folding iPhone this year – the iPhone Ultra. However, a new report suggests the device may face delivery delays, so it could be tricky to get hold of one.

Supply chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) has claimed the folding iPhone will have very limited supply at launch.

“My latest industry survey indicates that assembly shipments for the foldable iPhone in 2H26 will be roughly 7-8 million units, with 3Q26 shipments at 0.5-1 million units, or about 10 per cent of the total," he explained in a report.

"By comparison, estimated 3Q26 shipments of the iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max total roughly 20-22 million units, significantly higher than the foldable iPhone and already meeting the inventory requirement for an official launch.”

Based on those numbers, it’s fair to say it could be exceptionally difficult to get your hands on a folding iPhone before the end of the year. In his report, Kuo also noted that delivery times could be as much as six weeks and potentially longer.

The device is expected to thinner than the iPhone Air when unfolded, at below 5mm and it is thought to offer a similar shape to the iPad mini when open. According to rumours, the iPhone Ultra could have a 5.5-inch external display, and a 7.8-inch internal display.

For now, there is no official confirmation on whether the folding iPhone will launch this year alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models. If it does, though, it might be worth expecting Apple to take the same approach as it did with the iPhone X to avoid disappointment.

The smart home market has long been dominated by Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home, but a new contender has recently entered the scene. Earlier this year, Sky officially launched Sky Smart Home as a separate service, bringing together smart home gadgets, a dedicated app and affordable monthly plans in one simple ecosystem.

Whilst it's still early days, I think Sky Smart Home has the potential to become a strong competitor to the big name brands, and below are the three reasons why.

1. It's far more affordable than many rivals

One of Sky Smart Home's biggest advantages is its pricing. Instead of asking customers to spend hundreds of pounds upfront, Sky offers a hardware-and-subscription bundle from just £5 a month. That significantly lowers the barrier to entry for anyone who's been tempted by smart home technology but put off by the initial cost.

2. It keeps everything in one ecosystem

Whilst Alexa, Google and Apple all support thousands of third-party devices, that flexibility can also make setup and management feel overwhelming. Sky is taking the opposite approach by focusing on a curated ecosystem that's easy to install and manage.

The new Sky Smart Home app brings together live video, motion alerts, cloud recording and device controls in one place, with guided setup, live technical support and straightforward subscription options. For people who value simplicity over endless customisation, that's a strong selling point.

3. It's only just getting started

At launch, Sky Smart Home centred around a smart doorbell, indoor camera and companion app, but the brand has already added additional devices, including leak detectors, motion sensors and contact sensors.

If the company continues adding compatible devices and broadens its ecosystem over time, it has the potential to become a strong alternative to Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home – particularly for customers who prefer buying into one integrated system.

Apple could launch a new entry-level MacBook Pro with a redesign that's related to the rumoured MacBook Pro Ultra. This would likely usher in a new era of design for the MacBook Pro family.

There seems to be a lot happening in the world of MacBook at the moment. Not only have we seen the cheapest member of the family in the MacBook Neo (albeit getting a price bump thanks to component shortages), but we're also looking at a new high-end MacBook Pro, called the MacBook Ultra.

The MacBook Ultra, thought to be launching in Q3 2026, could usher in an OLED display, touchscreen support, a new design, as well as dropping the notch for a Dynamic Island type tool instead.

A report from the often-reliable Mark Gurman at Bloomberg points to an updated MacBook Pro (codenamed K104) that offers a new design "in line with what Apple is preparing for high-end MacBooks with touch screens".

That suggests that the new entry-level MacBook Pro won't just soldier on with the current design, but will be closer related to the MacBook Ultra. That would see the Ultra launching in late 2026 and the refreshed cheaper models adopting a similar design in early 2027.

What this entry-level, possibly 14-inch MacBook Pro is unlikely to get is touch support, and with OLED being a new addition for Ultra, it's unlikely to get that either.

Instead, it seems that Apple will go all-out on the MacBook Ultra in 2026, loading it with new features through that display and showing off a fancy new design that's slimmer and more compact.

Then it looks like it will follow up some six months later with an updated MacBook Pro, with a slimmer design of its own to keep customers happy. Whether there will be models between the two isn't clear, but it's likely that we'll end up with the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, new MacBook Pro in 2027 and MacBook Ultra in 2026.

It's thought that the MacBook Ultra will run on M5 Pro and M6 Max chips and it's also been suggested that an updated MacBook Pro would appear with M6 in 2026. With the suggestion now that a refreshed MacBook Pro will be launched in 2027 with M7, there's the potential that it's going to get confusing.

This might just mean that there's too much congestion around the MacBook line-up, with disparate chips, so there's every chance that these details may not all be correct.

Apple has reportedly increased the number of iPhone Ultra folding phone models in manufacture, as the company expects high interest in the new device. It's said that Apple will manufacture 10 million units of the new iPhone Ultra model.

The revised figure comes from Nikkei Asia (via 9to5Mac), increasing the estimate from the original order for 7-8 million phones. That's almost a 30% increase in the expected numbers that Apple will produce, according to a source close to the company.

The new folding iPhone is expected to land with a high asking price, expected to be around $2,500 (around £1,900, but Apple often doesn't directly exchange prices in different regions).

While the estimates for these devices are increasing, the report also says that Apple is increasing iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max numbers too, while the message going out to suppliers is to forecast "up to 85 million new iPhones for the second half of 2026".

While demand for the new folding model seems to be increasing, it will be dwarfed by demand for the updated iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

In a change to the normal launch cycle, it's been rumoured that Apple will be launching the iPhone Ultra alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September, with the iPhone 18 expected to follow at an event in March 2027.

That will allow Apple to focus on its premium models and drive sales of higher value phones, before the availability of more affordable models the following year. In 2026, the updates to the iPhone 17 were so good, that we said in our review that if you don't need a telephoto camera, then take the iPhone 17 over the Pro.

When the new iPhone models do launch in September, the iPhone Ultra is expected to garner most of the attention, with the iPhone 18 Pro expected to have much the same design as the iPhone 17 Pro, but introduce a few new elements like new colours, a variable aperture camera and new core hardware.

The iPhone Ultra will go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wider format of folding phone from Samsung who has dominated much of the book-style folding phone market outside China to date.

The switch in format has seen the iPhone Ultra likened to a folding iPad Mini and it's expected that Apple's experience from iPadOS will help usability on the larger display.

Those of you who keep up to date with your iPhone rumours will know that things are set to change from later this year. While we'd normally expect to see a full suite of new handsets every Autumn, things could be very different this time out.

According to a slew of rumours from the last year or so, the base model iPhone will be left out of the Autumn event. That will leave only the Pro models and the long-awaited iPhone Ultra – the brand's first foldable phone – launched at that event.

Instead, the base model iPhone 18, the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air 2 are all slated to arrive early in 2027. That could give rise to one of the most phone-heavy release years the brand has ever had, with six models slated to drop.

That would see those three married with another trio in the following Autumn, with the iPhone 19 Pro models and an iPhone Ultra 2. It's a lot to take in, and it also confirms that Apple is anticipating a yearly release cycle with its Ultra device.

Some had called that into question, after the launch of the iPhone Air. That – at least according to these rumours – seems to be on a two-yearly launch cycle, and some predicted that a foldable would follow suit.

The leak also suggests that all three of the models launching in the early part of 2027 will come with no major upgrades to the screen specs. That will disappoint some users, though it is likely a necessary evil to combat price hikes in the wake of the RAMageddon crisis.

Personally, I'm more annoyed about the splitting of the model family. Having the Pro version of a device launch prior to the standard version just feels clumsy and confusing.

Apple and Google have both taken another step towards making smart homes work more seamlessly, rolling out Thread 1.4 support to their latest streaming devices. The update introduces a standardised way for Thread Border Routers to share network credentials with one another – something earlier versions of the protocol promised but never fully delivered.

If you're unfamiliar with the term, a Thread Border Router acts as the bridge between your Thread smart home devices and your home's Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. Therefore, rather than each ecosystem creating its own isolated Thread network, compatible border routers will eventually be able to securely share network information with one another.

The news comes after Matter Alpha reported that Thread 1.4 first arrived on compatible Apple TV models through the tvOS 27 developer beta, whilst the Google TV Streamer received the same specification via a separate software update, according to 9to5Google.

That said, whilst both devices now support the Thread 1.4 specification, some of its headline features are still being implemented. For example, the Google TV Streamer's QR code credential-sharing feature isn't working reliably just yet, whilst Apple's tvOS 27 developer beta currently doesn't include a user-facing interface for credential sharing.

We'll keep you updated as and when we know more, but until then, it's clear we're one step further towards the interoperable smart home that Matter has been promising all along.

Anyone who has been following the Apple story and, specifically, via the technology media will remember "bargate" – the moment in 2010 when a prototype iPhone 4 was accidentally left in a bar and found its way into the hands of Gizmodo.

It ended in criminal proceedings and a lot of ill feeling. And it could be argued that the tech site has never truly been the same again.

Well, as scandalous and shocking as it was at the time (and admittedly, a little exciting), it could turn out to be nothing in comparison with the new, major Apple leak.

As revealed by Reuters, a data breach at one of Apple's main suppliers – Tata Electronics – has resulted in many thousands of files hitting the dark web and slowly winding their way onto the general internet. And many of those contain images and documents about the forthcoming iPhone 18 Pro.

Trusted leakers Evan Blass and Ice Universe have each posted videos of the alleged device, too. And while it hasn't been confirmed whether they were part of the data breach, they do seem official.

Ice Universe calls it the "biggest leak in Apple's history".

The online leaker credits Evan Blass (@evleaks) for the video, but it seems to have been taken down Blass' own feed. He's followed up with another angle instead.

If these are genuinely of the iPhone 18 Pro, it's clear to see that the phone will look almost identical to the current 17 Pro model. That's likely the case with the iPhone 18 Pro Max too.

Ice Universe does even state that the "real star" will be the foldable iPhone Ultra. And that's where Apple will be even more worried.

What else is coming from the huge Apple data leak?

Considering the stolen data dump comprises an estimated 200,000 files, how many of them relate to the iPhone Ultra?

If they start to get out more widely, Apple will have a tricky task in containing the leak – and controlling the narrative.

Some companies wouldn't care that much and embrace the "free" publicity and hype, but that's never been Apple's way. It would rather have some surprises to behold during its iPhone keynote and in many ways, we agree.

It's just becoming harder to do these days – after all, how much of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Unpacked will truly show us something we don't know about its new foldables? And we've seen plenty of other smaller leaks and CAD renders to have a good idea of what everything looks like from both manufacturers.

But there is something to be said about the mystique of a big tech launch – so we hope Apple has at least something else up its sleeve, and doesn't have to spend the next few months firefighting its "biggest leak" in its history.

Camera-equipped AirPods sound familiar? That's because this is far from the first time the idea has surfaced.

T3 previously reported on claims that Apple was exploring AirPods with built-in cameras, and multiple reports since then have suggested the project has moved from experimentation to active development.

Now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the earbuds are being lined up for a late-2027 launch alongside Apple's foldable iPhone and 20th-anniversary iPhone.

The latest report suggests Apple sees the earbuds as one of its first true AI-era wearables. According to Gurman, the devices would include tiny cameras embedded in the stems, allowing Siri to understand what's happening around you in real time.

That might sound invasive, but the cameras reportedly aren't designed for taking photos or recording video. Instead, they're expected to act as sensors that feed visual information into Apple's Visual Intelligence system, helping Siri identify objects, answer contextual questions and provide more useful assistance without needing you to point an iPhone camera at something first.

The bigger picture is that Apple appears to be building an entire ecosystem of AI hardware. Recent reports suggest the company is simultaneously working on smart glasses, camera-enabled AirPods and other wearable devices that use visual context to make Siri more aware of the world around you.

Rather than relying solely on a phone screen, future Apple devices could continuously gather information about your surroundings and provide assistance when needed.

The AirPods can make more sense than smart glasses in one way: hundreds of millions of people already wear earbuds every day. Adding visual intelligence to an existing product category may prove easier than convincing consumers to adopt an entirely new form factor.

There's even academic research demonstrating that low-power camera-equipped earbuds can provide surprisingly effective environmental awareness for AI systems.

There's still no word on pricing, and Apple hasn't confirmed any of the rumours. But after multiple reports over the past two years – and claims that the hardware has reached advanced testing – AirPods with cameras are starting to look less like a strange experiment and more like a product that's genuinely on the way.

As someone who's nursing his iPhone 15 Pro through what can only be termed as an obvious battery decline, it's tempting to keep an eye on the horizon for the next generation of iPhones and get pretty excited about potentially upgrading. That is, until you start to do some research and see grim tidings about likely price hikes and component shortages – the next generation of iPhone might be a little off-putting.

So, that means it could be worth looking back rather than forward, and seeing whether iPhones already on the market could offer the best value moving forward. That's what I've been doing this Amazon Prime Day, and it's left me thinking the iPhone Air might just be the best iPhone deal hidden in plain sight right now.

When we reviewed the iPhone Air last year, we were impressed by its build quality and design, unsurprisingly, and that impression has only become more cemented over time. It's really amazing how thin and light the phone is, especially when compared with the Pro models that you might be used to.

That makes the Air really nice to carry around in a pocket or bag by comparison, and its big screen ensures you don't feel any real compromise. Crucially for future-proofing it also has the A19 Pro chip inside it, which means that all of Apple's much-anticipated Siri AI upgrades will work when they're deployed, which is far from true for every iPhone released in the last few years.

The big question for me remains around battery life, given that's my beef with my slowly ageing 15 Pro. I now have to carry a slim battery pack around with me most of the time, since navigation kills the phone pretty fast, and that's a bummer that I'd like to avoid with the Air. Since it's less than a year old, it's hard to know how the battery will hold up over time, but I'm hopeful that it could be solid for a good few years.

I'm mulling this one over, but if you've been eyeing up the Air for while, then you might want to pull the trigger more quickly – this price might not last all that long.

The Apple Studio Display XDR is the second generation of Studio Display, providing a relatively affordable home monitor to pair with the Mac Studio or MacBook Pro.

It replaces the former 32-inch Pro XDR model, which sat alongside the original Studio Display, which was close to five grand. At double the price of the original Studio Display, it’s by no means cheap though.

This new 27-inch model is a step up from the Studio Display in almost all areas. It uses a mini LED rather than an LED display, which is much brighter, and finally offers a faster refresh rate of up to 120Hz – something previously lacking from Apple’s lineup.

Those using a Mac mini or MacBook Air are probably better served by the standard Studio Display or one of the many third-party options. However, for those wanting ultimate performance, the Studio Display XDR is likely to fit the bill.

Having used the Studio Display as my main display for the last year, I was keen to see how much better this new model is. I’ve been running both the Studio Display and Studio Display XDR from a Mac Studio for the past few weeks, to compare. While the Studio Display still holds up as an excellent monitor, the XDR model is that much better.

How much is the Apple Studio Display XDR?

Released in March 2026, the Apple Studio Display XDR starts from £2999 in the UK, $3299 in the US or A$5499 in Australia. Unlike the Studio Display, the height-adjustable stand comes as standard, though you can purchase it with a VESA mount adapter for wall mounting or attaching to monitor poles.

The only configurable feature is the option to have the nano-texture glass display. This provides a matte surface to the display, much like on the iPad Pro and the MacBook Pro. This isn’t a coating, this is part of the display, and the difference is stark. It does add £300 to the price, but if you are placing it in a bright room where reflections are likely, it’s well worth it.

Design and features

Design-wise, it’s difficult to tell the XDR version apart from the standard Studio Display. From the front, the black bezels are identical, with a 12MP CentreStage camera built in at the middle of the top bezel. Meanwhile, the back view has the same two USB-C and two powered Thunderbolt 5 ports.

The one potential giveaway is if it has just a tilting stand, though it’s possible to get both with the height and tilt adjustments. To really tell the difference, you need to plug the display in and take a look at the picture, as that’s where the difference really lies.

While the Studio Display XDR still offers a 5K resolution, it now has a 120Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync to adjust the frame rate to suit different media. This makes the display ideal for gaming, which is an area the Studio Display range has previously fallen down on.

The display itself now also uses mini-LED backlight technology, as opposed to standard LEDs, with 2304 dimming zones to provide more precise lighting and, therefore, deeper blacks and whiter whites. This is high compared to most mini-LED TVs, especially considering the size of the screen.

It’s brighter, too with up to 1,000 nits in standard definition and a peak of 2,000 nits for HDR content

Using the Apple Studio Display XDR

The Studio Display XDR is a great-looking monitor. With the brushed aluminium stand and back, along with the clean black bezels on the front, it looks every bit the Apple product and therefore sits perfectly alongside any Mac.

Due to the cost of this monitor, it’s likely to be paired with higher-end machines, but it will work perfectly well with any MacBook, Mac mini or Mac Studio. A 27-inch display is the perfect size for most desks, and more than enough real estate for most users. If you are connecting it to a MacBook, you can still use the laptop’s screen as a second display, but in practice, it’s not necessary.

The main requirement is that your machine is running on Apple silicon (so M1 and above) and is using macOS 26.3.1 or later. It is also compatible with newer iPad models, including all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 5th generation or newer. The latest iPad Pro M5 will even support 120Hz when connected to the Studio Display XDR, while all other iPads are limited to 60Hz.

I love how clean and simple the Studio XDR display looks, thanks to the ports being kept on the back. I also love the height adjustment on this model, as it means you can position the screen in the right place for your line of vision – there’s nothing worse than spending out on a fancy monitor and then having to prop it up on books, or an additional stand.

As with the standard studio monitor, the built-in webcam is excellent, giving you 12MP images or high-quality video calls. It also has built-in microphones and speakers – the speakers especially sound nice and big, giving you full spatial audio from the six-speaker system.

The best thing about the display, though, has to be the picture. As I said in my review of the original Apple Studio Display, its picture is absolutely stunning, and for general use the Studio Display XDR looks very similar.

Where it differs most is in the brightness, though there are subtleties between the images from the XDR and the standard model, with a little more contrast and gentler gradation on tones. It’s a tough call to the naked eye, though, and you wouldn’t be unhappy with either.

Refresh rate is the big ticket feature here, and having 120Hz on the XDR. You can test this quite easily for yourself using different online tools, like Test UFO, but you can really see it if you play fast-frame-rate games, such as DOOM Eternal. I noticed the difference playing Cyberpunk 2077 and even in the sequences of Civilization VII.

Should I buy the Apple Studio Display XDR?

For most Apple users, the regular Studio Display is still more than enough monitor, and if you want 120Hz, there are other options that cost significantly less. However, if you want the very best experience for your Mac, the Studio Display XDR is the one to go for.

Using this monitor is a dream, whether you’re working or gaming. The quality of both still and moving images is hard to beat, and the built-in speakers, microphone and cameras save you needing any add-ons apart from the computer itself.

While possibly overkill for most home users, it does offer pro-quality, so whether you’re editing video, images or 3D modelling, you will get a precise image and accurate colour. It’s the perfect pairing for the Mac Studio devices, but equally at home with a MacBook Pro.

Some users may miss the 32-inch size of the former model, but there’s always the option to pair two of these screens together for a giant workspace. Personally, I wouldn’t want anything bigger than 27 inches on my desk. I would love to see an iMac Pro offering, though, at this size.

It seems that RAMageddon is about to claim another victim – and this one is going to hurt millions of us. Fresh rumours and reports over the price of the iPhone 18 Pro suggest it's going to hit consumers in the wallet like never before.

It comes after Tim Cook confirmed that price rises were "unavoidable" across the Apple portfolio. The reason seems clear – ongoing RAM and component shortages arising from the unprecedented needs of AI data centres.

Now, the folks over at the Wall Street Journal have taken an educated guess at the cost of the new handset. That could see a start price of US$1,399 (approx. £1,050 / €1,220 / AU$1,995) for the handset. It's worth noting that Apple often prices its devices to the same number irrespective of location, so the actual figure could be more bleak here in the UK and Europe.

Sticking with the US pricing for ease, that would represent a US$300 price hike over the current entry point for the iPhone 17 Pro. It's going to be a pretty gnarly pill to swallow for consumers, particularly after a few years of miniscule or no rises.

What's more concerning is that it's likely to shape a trend across the wider phone market. It's no secret that Apple's size and influence makes it a bit of a figurehead.

If the cost of an iPhone goes up to account for the RAM shortage, you can bet your bottom dollar that every other phone will also go up to match it. That makes the whole thing less appealing, and could have some really devastating consequences for the market at large.

It feels like an inevitability at this point – particularly as there seems to be no sign of the RAM shortage easing in the near future – but it's still a nuisance for cash-strapped tech lovers.

We've been writing about the iPhone Ultra for more than a year – previously as the "iPhone Fold" – but it's only now that we've realised what it really is. And you know what? It's not actually an iPhone at all.

Nope, while it might still be called iPhone Ultra on release (although that's not confirmed, either), at its heart it's actually a foldable iPad. A foldable iPad mini, to be precise.

Serial Apple leaker Jon Prosser has revealed a set of new renders on his FPT (FrontPageTech) YouTube channel, which show the concept more clearly.

He claims the animated renders are the "most accurate" and up-to-date yet, and they show an inner display that looks more like an iPadOS homescreen than iOS. So, is this an iPhone than opens, or actually an iPad that folds?

It's actually both, of course, but you'll only likely buy one to use that internal screen regularly – after all, why not just buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max if you want a big screen iPhone?

It's raison d'être is to be a bigger screen device that you can fold in half to more easily carry around. So, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I put it to you that it's actually an iPad mini Ultra. Ahem.

All that aside, Prosser's new renders certainly make the device look good – with that (almost) crease-less inner display and a relatively slim build. We're not sure exactly, but it would be good to see some of the more iPad-centric features found in iPadOS creep into the iOS 27 system it is likely to employ – such as Stage Manager and Apple Pencil support.

Prosser also states that it'll only be available in white or black, although it will also be interesting to see the cases Apple could release – how much extra girth could they add?

But, perhaps the biggest question mark that still lingers is on pricing. With Tim Cook saying this week that Apple products will get more expensive due to the RAM crisis, and the iPhone 18 Pro even thought to cost $200 extra this year, will the iPhone iPad mini Ultra break the $2,000 / £2,000 barrier?

Sadly, I think it's inevitable. We'll find out for sure come September.

Apple's unannounced Beats headphones have surfaced once again, this time on England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, suggesting the long-rumoured over-ear cans could be nearing an official reveal.

The latest sighting comes via a comparatively small Instagram post from Manchester United fan account united.core, showing Mainoo wearing a pair of previously unseen Beats headphones alongside teammate Marcus Rashford.

Curiously, I was unable to trace the image back to an original source.

A reverse-image search using TinEye returned no matches, indicating the photograph has yet to appear elsewhere online.

That could mean this is one of the earliest public appearances of the mystery headphones to date.

The design matches earlier leaks but appears in a new colourway, featuring white earcups paired with dark blue ear cushions.

It's the third public appearance of the mystery headphones in recent weeks.

Previous sightings included Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal and South Korean star Lee Kang-in, with each athlete wearing a different colour combination.

That growing collection of finishes hints that Beats could be planning an unusually broad colour lineup at launch.

More than just another leak?

The repeated football connections are particularly notable, with every major sighting so far involving players competing at or associated with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

This suggests Beats may be using elite athletes as part of a coordinated teaser campaign, which is not uncommon for the brand.

There's also a possibility that the contrasting colours point to some form of customisation.

While there's no evidence that ear cushions or other components are interchangeable, the different combinations seen so far have sparked speculation that Beats could be experimenting with a more modular design.

For now, though, Apple and Beats remain tight-lipped about what could become the company's first major over-ear headphone release since the Beats Studio Pro launched in 2023.

It's always a bit of a task to sift through everything that Apple announces at WWDC, and this year was no different. It was a big year for the tech giant, with huge changes unveiled for Siri and showcases of all its new operating systems to get through in around an hour and a half of keynote time.

Still, Apple managed to run through it all, and that was partly by skipping through some surprisingly impactful announcements really quickly. My pick of the bunch? A tweak to how AirPods and AirPods Pro work that could mean way more control for people when they listen to music.

We're now almost a decade into the AirPods era, and for much of that time, some audio experts have been clamouring for one thing – EQ customisation on the earbuds. Apple has long taken the simplest possible approach by shipping its earbuds with a fixed tuning setup and ensuring that everyone, therefore, gets the exact same experience.

However, plenty of much more affordable earbuds let you tweak their sound signature to get something a little more personalised, and since the release of the AirPods Pro 3, these demands have been louder than ever. I love the Pro 3, but some people feel that its sound is a little less natural than the Pro 2's, despite clear improvements in other areas like ANC and battery life.

Perhaps because of that reaction from some of its audience, Apple's finally bringing a very limited form of EQ customisation to its AirPods in iOS 27, which is a game-changer in many regards. It showed off the feature in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it part of the WWDC presentation, but that confirmed a few things for us.

Firstly, this is just a three-band EQ system that lets you adjust the strength of lows, mids and highs, without any more granular control than that. Secondly, Apple isn't labelling these segments with frequency ranges, and it also doesn't give a scale of how much you're boosting or limiting frequencies, so you'll be mostly going off a graph and your ears.

That makes this a pretty rudimentary version of the system that others use for their earbuds, but in this case, something is a million miles better than nothing. I've been wanting any control over my AirPods for years (since I used the Pro 2 for their entire lifespan), so I'll definitely be jumping on it the moment iOS 27 drops later this year. I'm not a beta kind of guy, though, so I will have to wait until the official release to get my ears on it.

I'm adamant that the AirPods 3 are the best earbuds going for the majority of iPhone users, even without EQ, but you can always improve things. It's great to see Apple leaning more into customisation, and the only big question left is which AirPods models will support the feature. The more the better, of course, so let's hope it's all of those still on sale, and a couple of generations back, too.

Tim Cook will soon step down as Apple CEO, with engineer John Ternus set to take over in September, but it seems one of his last jobs before he goes is to confirm a price hike on Apple products.

"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," Cook told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."

No other details were shared, including which products that are to be affected, but the move always seemed inevitable.

Component costs have risen to record highs in the last year or so, with the prices of RAM and storage in particular being three to four times more than they were previously.

And sadly, while the focus of the recent WWDC 26 was mainly dedicated to the upcoming launch of Siri AI, it and other AI systems are largely to blame.

Why is AI to blame for the RAM crisis?

The global RAM shortage – often referred to as "RAMageddon" – has been enacted by the rapid rise of AI data centres. They require vast amounts of RAM chips, and so AI companies have been snaffling them up faster than an anteater at a picnic.

It has had a knock-on affect with other components too, including SSD storage, and so many tech products have seen price increases or even cancellations this year. Analytics firm CCS Insights even believes we'll see the mobile phone market shrink by 15% by the end of 2026 as a result.

Apple was initially thought to have safe guarded itself by stockpiling chips prior to the crisis, but is clearly running out of available hardware. And as Cook has confirmed, it will now pass on its costs to consumers.

This could mean that the expected iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models will be more expensive than their predecessors when they arrive in September. The much-rumoured foldable iPhone Ultra was already expected to be in the $2,000 - $2,500 category.

However, the price increases could start sooner, with existing devices seeing big hikes.

So, if you are after an Apple product and not waiting for its fall (autumn) releases, you should consider taking the plunge now. Or better still, wait until next week and see what the Amazon Prime Day sale has to offer.

Apple announced a new version of Siri during WWDC 26, which drags the voice assistant kicking and screaming into the AI era. And so, after a false start in 2024 following the announcement of Apple Intelligence, a more capable Siri AI will debut with the arrival of iOS 27.

It'll also spell the end of the current assistant, which has seemingly had its run.

We've already tried out Siri AI, which now has a dedicated app, and it promises much greater scope than Siri previously offered. Like Google's Gemini is to Google Assistant, Siri AI is to Siri and that experience is going to be universal across all Apple devices.

It helps Apple reset its position with AI, having struggled to deliver the experience that was originally promised – and when iOS 27 lands, phones from the iPhone 15 Pro and newer will get access to the new and improved Siri AI.

The reason that Apple has taken so long to reach this point is because it basically had to start again. The voice assistant – first announced in 2011 – has become the subject of much ridicule over the years, as rivals like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant outstripped its functionality.

But that now changes, with Apple's agreement with Google to use Gemini technology a part of the puzzle.

In a recent interview (via 9to5Mac), Mike Rockwell – who now leads the team developing Siri – confirmed that Apple "rebuilt Siri from the ground up, literally, tore it to the ground".

Apple had previously "built a first version of this that was sort of incremental on top of the original Siri that added tool calling, and we had it working. But we didn’t feel it was really delivering on the vision and the experience that we wanted to do".

That means the new Siri is now a completely different beast to the previous version: this isn't the old Siri with bits bolted on: "It allowed us to build a profoundly more capable Siri. So it’s a Siri that has its own application, it’s natively multimodal, it’s privacy from the ground up," said Rockwell.

While Siri will be supported on iPhone models back to iPhone 15 Pro – the same as Apple Intelligence – the very best version of Siri AI, which allows "expressive voices and more advanced dictation" will only be available on iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Those are the models that have 12GB RAM – something that Apple typically doesn't talk about, and doesn't include in the specifications on its product pages. Now, in the AI era, RAM becomes much more important.

It'll also be available on any new iPhone models coming later this year, of course – such as the company's first foldable, the iPhone Ultra.

For those with an iPhone older than iPhone 15 Pro, we expect that "old" Siri will keep plodding on, but a bit like Google Assistant, it will likely stay in place but get no new functionality.