News and Updates about Apple

Affinity for iPad launched on November 2, 2026, as a free download, finally giving Mac-based Affinity users a matching iPad app built around the same unified sketch, vector, photo, and layout toolset.

Apple's Apple Pencil compatibility page, published two days ago, lists only two styluses for the iPad mini (A17 Pro): Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) (Apple Support, published two days ago). Apple Pencil (2nd generation) still appears on that same page, but only under the outgoing iPad mini (6th generation), not the new model.

Apple's iOS 27.2 update, released last week, expands Siri AI into five more languages and promises more systemwide app actions. Installing it doesn't mean every app on your iPhone suddenly starts talking back to Siri, though.

tvOS 27.2 landed on October 26, 2026, as a free update for Apple TV 4K (2nd generation, 2021) and later, and most of what's inside it works the moment you install it. The tvOS 27.2 features for Apple TV 4K include Find My support for the Siri Remote, a new screensaver Shuffle mode with private photo controls, FaceTime Links, and sign-language support.

Apple's new iPad mini finally has an OLED screen, and that upgrade now costs more than an 11-inch iPad Air M4. The redesigned mini starts at $699, putting it $100 above the entry-level 11-inch Air ($599) and $100 below the 13-inch Air ($799), according to MacRumors and Apple Newsroom. For anyone weighing iPad mini OLED vs. iPad Air M4 as their next tablet, that price overlap changes the math.

Apple has redesigned the removable AC plug on its 70W and 140W USB-C power adapters, and the new pill-shaped fitting does not accept older C7-style duckheads or the previous extension cable. That creates a compatibility problem for travelers who want to reuse Apple's older plugs or extension cables with the newly revised chargers.

Apple just gave iPhone owners a direct way to control Siri AI's access to apps, and it's a fix years in the making. iOS 27.2 adds a new Settings > Siri > Excluded Apps menu that lets users block Siri's AI engine from reading specific apps, replacing a multi-toggle setup that previously required disabling several settings per app or turning off Siri AI entirely.

Apple released watchOS 27.2 on Oct. 26, adding conversation memory to Siri AI on Apple Watch for the first time. Apple's release notes confirm Siri AI can retain useful context from previous interactions, including the ability to recall recommendations made days earlier. For example, users can ask Siri about restaurants it suggested last week without repeating the original conversation.

Apple's new Made for iPhone Duo badge is appearing on App Store product pages, giving owners of the company's first foldable iPhone a way to spot apps designed for its larger screen. But the label doesn't necessarily mean Apple has tested every foldable-specific feature or verified that an app works flawlessly.

Apple's iOS 27.2 release notes confirm that Shared Albums in Photos now support editing captions and comments, according to the full notes reproduced by iClarified. The update is available now through Settings > General > Software Update.

Apple released iOS 18.7.11 and iPadOS 18.7.11 earlier this week, delivering a fix for a CoreGraphics flaw the company says "may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals" on iOS versions before iOS 27. This is the iPhone XR and iPhone XS security update that matters most right now, since it's the only version that brings the fix to iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, hardware that can't run iOS 26, along with the seventh-generation iPad.

iOS 27 introduces a change to how iPhone handles sound: alarms, ringtones, and notification alerts no longer have to share one volume slider. Owners can now turn down a ringtone or text alert without quietly lowering the alarm that's supposed to wake them up. That's the practical answer to a question a lot of iPhone owners have been asking for years: how to set separate alarm and ringer volumes on iPhone without one setting dragging down the other.

The iPhone Duo can finally double as a digital notepad, but owning an Apple Pencil doesn't necessarily mean you're ready to start writing. Apple's foldable iPhone now supports stylus input through iOS 27.2, released October 26, 2026, but only the Apple Pencil (USB-C) works. Even the more expensive Apple Pencil Pro is incompatible.

A fork of an open-source project called nxnative has reportedly got Mario Kart World, a Switch 2 exclusive, running on a Mac, with developer Will Faust posting video footage of the game on Oct. 27.

The new Shortcuts features in iOS 27.2 arrived this week, covering automation triggers, actions, and editor tools documented in Apple's release notes. Several of these Shortcuts improvements also extend to iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, which received their matching 27.2 updates on October 26.

Apple's smallest tablet has finally gone OLED, but the better screen comes with a considerably higher price. The redesigned iPad mini also brings a faster A20 Pro chip, a thinner body, and something no previous mini offered: an official water and dust resistance rating.

At $899, Apple's M6 Mac mini looks like a bargain beside the new $1,499 iMac. That's $600 saved before you've even turned either computer on. But there's a catch: the Mac mini doesn't come with a screen, keyboard, or mouse, and buying those separately can eat into the savings.

macOS Golden Gate's touch-oriented interface isn't limited to the new PROLED MacBook Pro. Testing in the macOS 27.3 and iPadOS 27.3 developer betas shows the same macOS Golden Gate touch features also work through Sidecar with an iPad, and on one of two third-party touchscreen monitors tested, AppleInsider reports.

Apple's WebKit team introduced Safari Adaptive Dark Mode in the Safari 27.3 beta, a feature that automatically darkens light websites without the site needing to build its own dark theme, according to WebKit's announcement two days ago. It only works once a user turns it on, and it requires the device's system appearance to already be set to Dark. WebKit's announcement does not provide a stable-release date, and it doesn't specify a full list of supported devices or operating systems, so anyone...

Update to iOS 27.2 and the edited photos in a camera roll look exactly the same as before. That's intentional. Apple's latest release, which rolled out last week, quietly embeds an invisible marker called SynthID into certain AI-generated and AI-edited images, so a photo can carry a trace of its AI origins without any visible change to the picture itself (Apple Support, last week; 9to5Mac, this week).

Apple's first touchscreen Mac is shipping today, built into the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, with the 14-inch model starting at $2,899, according to Apple. It's a reversal from Apple's own history on the subject: Steve Jobs once dismissed touch laptops as a bad idea, The Verge recalls. Now that the hardware has reached reviewers, the first independent hands-on coverage of MacBook Pro touchscreen features is available, and it adds nuance Apple's launch materials left out.

Apple has closed so much of the feature gap between its standard and Pro earbuds that the AirPods 5 vs AirPods Pro 3 decision isn't really a spec-sheet question anymore. It comes down largely to whether an open-ear bud resting against your ear beats a sealed tip sitting inside your ear canal.

Apple added the 2017 Retina 12-inch MacBook to its obsolete products list this week, a designation that now covers every 12-inch MacBook the company ever sold.

Pre-orders for Apple's HomeView are available now at $299 in the US, with the device launching November 13. Before handing over money, there's a detail worth understanding: Apple's updated CarPlay developer documentation says CarPlay audio and video apps also work on HomeView without developers modifying the app specifically for the new device.

Apple published official iPhone Duo repair costs ahead of the foldable reaching customers, and the numbers are blunt. An inner-display repair without AppleCare+ runs $999, dropping to $99 with coverage, while the catch-all "other damage" category tops out at $1,499 uninsured.

Apple is giving longtime Alexa users a new reason to reconsider their smart-home setup. Its $299 HomeView, arriving November 13, promises a shared display that recognizes household members and brings their personal apps, calendars, and messages onto one screen. Amazon's fourth-generation Echo Show 8 already offers facial recognition, Alexa+, and a larger display for a lower price.

Apple may be preparing to change one of the MacBook Pro's most familiar features: how you interact with its screen. After years of keeping touch controls exclusive to devices like the iPad, the company is reportedly preparing its first touchscreen MacBook Pro, complete with an OLED display and a redesigned interface.

Apple lists Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K among the compatible devices for its current remotes, but the compatibility entries hinge on the tvOS version, not just the device name. That distinction is the whole ballgame for anyone trying to sort out Siri Remote compatibility with older Apple TV hardware before spending money.

Apple opened preorders for HomePod mini 2 on October 13, and the pitch leans on five capabilities framed as reasons to buy. Run a HomePod mini 2 vs HomePod mini comparison against Apple's own materials, though, and the comparison gets harder to make than the marketing suggests: Apple's October 13 announcement does not provide enough acoustic specifications to establish a measurable improvement over the original HomePod mini.

Apple's own buy page for the full-size HomePod used alt text describing a "multi-colored Siri AI glow on top" on a speaker Apple has not announced Siri AI support for. The find has fueled speculation that Siri AI is coming to full-size HomePod sooner than Apple has said, but the available reports describe it as a clue, not confirmation.

Apple is selling the new Apple TV 4K as supercharged by Siri AI, but the AI doing the supercharging isn't exclusive to the new box. Apple confirmed yesterday that Siri AI runs as a beta on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later), which means eligible existing Apple TV 4K owners can use the beta without buying the new box, subject to Apple's software, language, and regional requirements.

Apple unveiled HomeView at a New York event yesterday, its first dedicated smart home display, and the pitch sounds simple: a $299 screen that controls your smart home, recognizes who's standing in front of it, and turns a saved recipe into guided, hands-free cooking steps.

Apple rewrote the compatibility lists for the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad around August 25, dropping every Intel-based Mac from the official pages. This week, it reportedly extended the same edits to related tech-specs pages. The pages now read as if the accessories support Apple silicon Macs only, a shift worth knowing about if you're checking Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad Intel Mac compatibility before buying or troubleshooting one.

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.

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...

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...