News and Updates about Apple

iPadOS 27 became available as a free update Sept. 14, and the headline addition is Siri AI, Apple's rebuilt assistant. Installing the update is one decision; getting Siri AI to work is another.

Apple's macOS 27 "Golden Gate" puts Siri AI into Spotlight, the right-click menu, and screen-aware queries, but the first hands-on account of it found Siri itself only "occasionally useful." Gizmodo's Kyle Barr spent time with the macOS 27 beta two months ago and came away more impressed with a different feature: AI-assisted Shortcuts, which he called "the real gold" of the release.

Apple's iOS 27 update, released Sept. 14, adds a new layer of parental controls that lets parents approve or deny specific requests as they happen instead of relying only on restrictions configured in advance.

Apple's iOS 27 bill-splitting feature is now live, letting Apple Cash users photograph or select a receipt, assign individual items to different people, and calculate each person's share before sending payment requests.

Apple released watchOS 27.0.1 for Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 on Sept. 23, with release notes describing bug fixes "including an issue that could cause the Apple Watch to restart unexpectedly," according to MacRumors.

A Tom's Guide reporter spent about four hours trying to book a family trip to Disneyland Paris, phone parked in an online queue the whole time. The reporter said the checks on that booking page came about every 20 minutes in that case, part of a range the same person observed elsewhere running anywhere from 10 minutes to a full hour (Tom's Guide, last week). That inconsistency is the whole problem with an otherwise clever tool.

iOS 27 arrived earlier this month, and among its Apple Intelligence features is a new way to build automations: describe what you want in plain language, and the Shortcuts app builds it for you (MacRumors; EFF). Tap New Shortcut and the app can open to a "Describe a Shortcut" screen instead of dropping straight into the manual action editor, based on MacRumors' testing during the beta this summer (MacRumors). The update also brings new automation triggers and several new actions across...

Apple's iOS 27 parental controls started arriving on devices on September 14, 2026, as part of a broader software rollout that also touched iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27. The features getting the most attention, child accounts, Ask to Browse, and a redesigned Screen Time, aren't spread evenly across that whole list. Apple says they require installing the Screen Time update specifically on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.

Apple confirmed this week that it's tightening macOS Full Disk Access controls, requiring a "very explicit user action" before any Mac app can receive the permission. The company says autonomous AI agents have pushed the risk of that access high enough to justify the change.

Apple just released watchOS 27.2 beta 3, the third developer beta, alongside matching beta 3 builds for tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, and other platforms in the same seed. The update swaps in fresh code for Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro testers, but the available report doesn't name a single feature, fix, or interface change tied to any of those three platforms.

Ever tapped Cancel on iCloud+, and nothing happens right away, and the paid plan keeps working through the end of the current billing cycle? That's what happens when you cancel iCloud storage: Apple doesn't cut off access the moment the change gets confirmed. What happens after that date depends on two separate things: how much data the account holds compared to the free 5 GB tier it's about to land on, and a set of iCloud+ features that disappear regardless of how much storage is actually in...

Apple's macOS Full Disk Access changes are arriving because AI agents are gaining enough autonomy to turn a convenience permission into a serious privacy risk, and the company says it needs to act before that risk grows further. A notice posted on Apple's developer site states that going forward, anyone who wants to grant Full Disk Access (FDA), the macOS permission that lets an app slip past most of the system's privacy protections, will have to take "very explicit user action," as reported by...

Apple is reportedly working with LG on a new line of smart home hardware, according to a Bloomberg report. These reported Apple-LG smart home devices include a video doorbell, a smart deadbolt lock, and a thermostat, built through a "second-party" deal: LG will reportedly build and brand the hardware, while Apple helped develop it behind the scenes.

Two enterprise AI reports published earlier this year could be misread as evidence against buying Macs for a managed fleet. The logic looks tidy on paper: pair a documented AI governance gap with a survey of Apple-first organizations, and it reads like a case against the hardware itself. That reading doesn't hold up once you look at what either report actually measured, and that's the gap this article checks, not whether Apple Intelligence enterprise Mac security is settled, but whether these...

Apple hasn't announced any smart home hardware made with LG, and neither company has confirmed a partnership. But a new Apple LG smart home accessories leak lays out two iPhone-based features that could define how Apple Home users eventually set up and control a trio of LG-built devices: a proximity-triggered control shortcut and a way to begin pairing before an accessory ever has power. Code and firmware details shared by leaker pdfu describe both features, according to MacRumors.

Apple Wallet can store a state-issued driver’s license or ID, but that doesn’t mean every state qualifies as one of the states that accept a driver’s license in Apple Wallet at TSA checkpoints. According to TSA’s own list of participating states and eligible digital IDs, 16 states plus Puerto Rico currently route a mobile ID through Apple Wallet specifically for checkpoint use. Other states may use a state-built app instead, or may not appear on TSA’s current eligible-ID list at all.

iOS 27 rolled out today, September 14, and buried inside it is something AirPods owners have asked for through several software cycles: a working iOS 27 AirPods customizable EQ that lets owners push lows, mids, and highs up or down instead of trusting Apple's automatic tuning alone. Apple Intelligence and a beta version of Siri AI ship the same day.

Apple has brought the App Switcher back on Apple Watch in watchOS 27.2 beta 2, and it works differently than the version longtime owners are used to. Instead of double-clicking the Digital Crown, testers now press and hold the bottom of the screen while inside an app.

Apple didn't quietly bolt on a new financing tier this week. It shut down the iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments in the United States and replaced both with the Apple Upgrade program, a Klarna-backed lease that now spans iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac (Apple Newsroom, this week). Leases start at $17.99 a month for iPhone and run 12 to 36 months depending on device category, sold through Apple's own retail and online channels in partnership with buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna...

Apple quietly previewed a way to switch one phone number between two iPhones at WWDC 2026, but it left the mechanics largely unexplained. What sounded at first like a small continuity feature now looks more substantial: one iPhone can serve as the main device, a second can act as its companion, and the same phone number can move between them without repeatedly transferring the primary eSIM.

Apple Watch owners testing the watchOS 27 beta have found two features missing outright: a Digital Crown double-click shortcut and the Walkie-Talkie app. A third change reshuffles rather than removes, merging three separate Find My apps into one. These are the watchOS 27 changes reported so far in beta testing, and each one comes with a different level of certainty depending on which build was checked and when.

Apple's iOS 27, currently moving through beta testing ahead of a fall release, brings a broad set of improvements to Messages.

Wikipedia's iOS app picked up a new Home Screen widget yesterday that does exactly one thing: open a random Wikipedia article the moment someone taps it. The Wikipedia iOS random articles widget shipped in Monday's iPhone and iPad update, joining the trending, featured, and Picture of the Day widgets the app already offers, 9to5Mac reported.

Apple Maps ads are now live in the US and Canada. Ad delivery began on August 21, and Apple confirmed a few days later that the rollout would keep expanding over the coming weeks, according to 9to5Mac and PPC Land.

Apple's long-rumored Home Hub display is shaping up to be less a single shared screen and more a device that can serve personal content depending on who's using it.

WhatsApp's in-chat search feature for iPhone would let users jump straight into a chat's search mode with a single tap, skipping the detour through chat info the app currently requires. The feature was discovered in WhatsApp beta for iOS 26.31.10.70 on TestFlight, but WhatsApp has not enabled it for beta testers and has not announced a release date.

GM confirmed last week that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will remain in the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, but with a redesigned infotainment interface arriving later this year on the company's highest-volume vehicles.

Apple's iOS 27 update landed this week, but plenty of iPhone owners are opening Settings and finding the same old Siri staring back at them. That's not a bug. Siri AI, the overhauled assistant Apple began promising back in June, does not activate automatically with iOS 27.

Apple now markets the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max as an intelligent personal hub, pairing AI capability with personal context and calling privacy and security core to the design. That's a confirmed claim from Apple's own announcement. It doesn't tell you which parts of that hub are working today, or whether they apply to the phone you already own.

Apple's macOS 27 Golden Gate doesn't dramatically redesign Photos, but it delivers one of the app's broadest feature updates in years. The changes span generative AI editing, upgraded Shared Albums, new organization tools, and improvements to slideshows and search.

Apple is testing its redesigned Health app in iOS 27.2, giving beta users an early look at the new Insights and Longevity tabs before the full experience launches later this year.

tvOS 27 adds a Settings control that can block a household member from launching specific apps, according to release-note wording 9to5Mac reported Monday. That's the extent of what tvOS 27 Apple TV profiles app controls are confirmed to do right now. Apple's cited release notes don't specify whether the restriction is tied to a single profile, whether it applies only to child-type profiles, or whether a passcode protects the setting once it's turned on.

Apple shipped watchOS 27 on Sept. 14, and the update removes a familiar Apple Watch multitasking shortcut.

iOS 27's Wallet app now includes a bill-splitting tool that can scan a restaurant receipt, identify individual items, calculate each person's share of tax and tip, and let people settle up through Apple Cash.

Farwave, an iPhone and iPad app, lets people find world radio stations by spinning a 3D globe to a region and tapping on a station, according to a 9to5Mac report published September 12 as part of the outlet's weekly Indie App Spotlight series. The Farwave app is free to download, with a subscription tier that adds podcasts, imported music, and other features.

Code buried inside HomePod Software 27 shows Apple has been quietly laying groundwork for Siri AI on HomePod, according to a leak that surfaced yesterday. Apple has not announced the feature, and it is not active on any HomePod currently in homes. The leak, spotted by code sleuth pdfu and reported by 9to5Mac and MacRumors, gives the clearest hint yet that Apple's smarter assistant is headed for its smart speakers, but it also raises a harder question for anyone with a HomePod already on a...