What's new with the Camera app in iOS 27: Siri mode, enhanced controls, & more
In iOS 27, Apple is bringing a welcomed set of changes to the stock Camera app. Here's how it has evolved, what you can now do, and what we didn't see.Apple's updated Camera app with iOS 27There are hundreds of changes throughout iOS 27, and the Camera app has its fair share. It's both easier to use and more powerful than before, so let's walk through it.Jumping into the app, it still looks very familiar. The general layout, color scheme, and functionality have all remained. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Lexar Armor 700 8TB review: Impressive capacity, good speeds, with a catch
Lexar's new 8TB SSD is a dream for creatives, but Apple's port choices are holding it back. Let's find out if the large capacity Armor 700 is still worth buying.Lexar Armor 700 8TB review: The Lexar drive is good, but Apple won't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2As both a photographer and videographer, I'm always churning through storage. I have near a hundred terabytes sitting on my desk in one fashion or another.Recently, I've been working more mobile than I had been, requiring somewhat of a reevaluation of my workflow. I needed something I could bring around to use with my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro with enough capacity to reduce my transfers between drives. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple Watch Activity badges: National Parks Challenge on August 23
Macworld Achievement badges are a funny thing. You know they’re just a simple little bit of visual flair, they don’t even do anything, and yet for some reason you just have to collect them. Gamification can be a great motivator, and the achievement badges for the activity tracking on the Apple Watch have inspired many users to get more exercise. If you want to maximize your badge count, you’re going to want to chase down as many activity achievements as you can. Most are available year-round, but there are also some time-limited special events to grab, too. Here’s a list of all the activity achievements for the Apple Watch and how to unlock them. Updated August 18, 2026: Every year, Apple celebrates the anniversary of the National Parks Service with a challenge and badge. This year that happens on August 23. Apple Watch Series 11 Price When Reviewed: From $399 Best Prices Today: $299.99 at Target | $329 at Amazon | $329 at Walmart Standard achievements Most of the achievements can be earned year-round. If you open the Activity app on your iPhone, then head over to the Achievements tab, you’ll see some of them listed even before you earn them (in which case they will be represented by a grey outline). However, there are some achievements that are not shown until you earn them. Past and future monthly challenges, for example, won’t show up, nor do all the various individual exercise workouts. Here is a list of all the standard badges you can get. First [exercise] Workout The first time you perform a new exercise for at least 5 minutes, you’ll get a achievement badge. Every workout type that does not fall under the “Other” category is eligible for this badge: from walking to yoga to HIIT to hiking and more. Activities with both indoor and outdoor variants, like Cycling and Walking, are bundled together; you can do either activity to get the badge, and can only get it once. [exercise] Workout Record Every time you beat your previous best record for calories burned in any of the exercises listed above, you get this badge. There is one caveat: You must complete five workouts of that type first. If you want to game the system, make sure your first four workouts of each type are short and easy, so it won’t take much effort to beat them. You get a badge the first time you do each major exercise type, and when you break a record. 7-Workout Week Simply complete any workout of at least 15 minutes every day of the week. Note that the week is Monday-Sunday, and you have to do a workout on each of those days (you can’t simply do any seven days in a row). If you start a walking workout whenever you walk outside, you can achieve this easily. New Move Record Any day that your Move ring goes further than ever before (meaning you burned more calories in a day), you’ll earn this award. There’s one catch: you have to use your Apple Watch for 10 days before you can complete this. New Exercise Record This is just like the Move Record achievement, only for the green ring. This one is based on minutes of exercise, not calories burned, so it’s really easy to get. Just like the Move Record achievement, you have to use your Apple Watch for 10 days first. Move Goal 200%, 300%, 400% You earn this when you exceed your calorie target (the red Move ring) by 2x, 3x, or 4x, respectively. In other words, it’s given for making the red activity ring go around two, three, or four times in a day. It’s easy to get if you just set your Move goal very low. Double, triple, and quadruple your Move ring goal. Reduce your goal if you’re having trouble. New Move Goal Every time you change your daily Move goal, and then exceed that new goal, you get this achievement. You can change your Move goal by opening the Activity app on your Apple Watch and force-pressing the screen. Longest Move Streak When you hit your Move goal (close the red ring) several days in a row, that’s a “streak.” You get this award when your streak finally ends, if it’s longer than your previous best streak. Perfect Week This is given out for four categories: Move, Exercise, Stand, and All Activity. For the first three, simply close the rings (red, green, or blue) every day of the week. To get the Perfect Week (All Activity) badge, close all three rings every day for an entire week. You can earn this multiple times, though it only shows one badge. Remember, one week in the Activity app is from Monday-Sunday! Close those rings every day from Monday to Sunday to earn a handful of badges. Perfect Month Unlike Perfect Week, there are not multiple different Perfect Month badges for the different color rings. The lone Perfect Month achievement is for closing the red Move ring every day of the month. There’s a separate Perfect Month badge for every month and every year, though. So you can earn this in February and again in March, and again in February in the next year. Monthly Challenge Each month has its own unique fitness challenge. If you have notifications set for the Activity app on our Apple Watch, you’ll see the goal presented at the beginning of the month, but you’ll also see the current month’s challenge in the Achievements tab of the Activity app on your iPhone. It will be a grey outline before it’s completed, but you can tap on it to see what the challenge entails. The monthly challenge may task you with burning a specific number of calories, working out a number of times, or traveling a certain distance. There’s no telling what each new month will bring, you just have to look! There’s a different challenge every month, so check your Activity app. 100, 365, 500, 1,000 Move Goals When you hit your daily Move goal (close the red ring) 100 times, you get an achievement badge. You get another for hitting it 365 times, 500 times, and 1,000 times. These do not need to be in a row; it’s just the total number of times you’ve ever hit the goal. Close the Move ring often to unlock a series of badges. Set the Move goal low if you want to make it easier. Apple Watch Ultra 2 Read our review Price When Reviewed: $799 (base) Best Prices Today: $559.95 at Best Buy US | $799 at Apple | $799.99 at Target Limited Achievements Apple offers multiple one-off challenges per year that are only available for a limited time. Often, they’re only around for one day or one weekend. Some are limited to the U.S. because they’re based on U.S. holidays. You’ll get a notification on your Apple Watch when one of them is coming up (make sure you have notifications enabled for the Activity app, using the Watch app on your iPhone). National Parks Challenge (August 23, 2026) Apple The anniversary of the founding of the U.S. National Park Service is on August 25. Every year, Apple celebrates this with a global National Parks badge (on the 23th this year). Earning this award is a walk in the park. Or a run. Or a hike. Or a wheelchair push. Just record one of these workouts for 20 minutes or more on August 23. Global Running Day (June 3, 2026) Foundry On June 3, the world runs as one. This Global Running Day, record a running workout of at least 5K (3.1 mi) to earn this award. Use the Workout app or any app that records workouts to Health. International Dance Day (April 29, 2026) Apple Show off your dance moves for International Dance Day. Earn this award by recording a Dance workout of 20 minutes or more on April 29. Record it with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to Health. Earth Day (April 22, 2026) Apple This Earth Day, April 22, record any 30 minute workout with the Workout app or any app that records workouts to Health to earn this award. The earth will think the world of you. Heart Month challenge (February 14, 2026) Foundry Close your exercise ring on Valentine’s Day, February 14, to earn this award. Your heart will love you for it. New Year 2026 (January 2026) Foundry Start the year strong and stay active! Earn this award by closing all three Activity rings for seven days in a row in January. World Meditation Day (December 21, 2025) Foundry Time to celebrate World Meditation Day! On December 21, record five mindful minutes or more with the Mindfulness app or any app that adds mindful minutes to Health to earn this special badge. Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2025) Foundry Earn this award on November 11 by doing any workout for 11 minutes or more. Record your time with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to Health. World Mental Health Day Challenge (October 10, 2025) Foundry Record 10 minutes of mindfulness or meditation with any app that adds mindful minutes to Health to get this award. National Parks Challenge (August 24, 2025) The anniversary of the founding of the U.S. National Parks is on August 25. Every year, Apple celebrates this is a global National Parks badge (on the 24th this year, since the 25th is a Monday). Just do a workout of 20 minutes or more on August 24 with any app that records workouts the the Health app to earn this badge.

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9to5Mac Daily: August 18, 2026 – iOS 27 beta 6, AirPods leak
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Sponsored by Backblaze: Backup you can rely on. Save 20% with code 9to5daily.

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Apple services outage hits iCloud, Game Center, Find My, and more
Syncing your data with iCloud might not work right now, as an outage has affected multiple Apple services, causing issues for developers and users alike.iCloud and other Apple services were hit by an outage on Tuesday.Virtually everything on an iPhone or iPad can be uploaded to iCloud and synced across compatible devices. However, the services that power this functionality can sometimes become unresponsive, which is what happened on August 18.According to Apple's System Status page, several Apple Services were affected by an outage. At around 3:30 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, users began experiencing difficulties with iCloud and its associated features, including contact, calendar, and photo syncing, along with iCloud Mail, iWork for iCloud, and more. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple Wallet driver’s licenses coming to these states next
At WWDC 2021, Apple announced support for storing your driver’s license in Apple Wallet on iPhone. At the time, Apple touted this as the last step before you can be “fully free of your physical wallet.” Here are the states where support for the Apple Wallet driver’s license feature is coming next …

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Find My, iCloud, and several other Apple services are currently down for some users
Apple’s System Status page confirms that consumers and developers are currently experiencing issues accessing some of its services. Here are the details.

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Comcast just turned millions of Xfinity routers into motion sensors
Comcast launched Xfinity Shield today, a new home protection platform that includes a feature to turn routers into motion sensors. Here are the details.

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AirPods Max 2 are $120 off this week
Apple’s AirPods Max 2 are currently available on Amazon for $429, marked down from their regular $549 price. That $120 discount is offered… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Firefox Smart Window adds AI web search, automatic tab groups, and more
Mozilla today announced new features to Firefox’s AI-powered Smart Window, which remains in beta. Here are the details.

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Here’s everything new for Apple Calendar in iOS 27
iOS 27 is packed with new features for Apple Wallet, Messages, Notes, and other system apps—including Calendar. Here’s everything new for Apple’s Calendar app in iOS 27.

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tvOS 27 leak points to Siri AI coming to Apple TV 4K
Siri AI was unveiled this summer for most Apple platforms (currently available only in betas) — but Apple TV and HomePod were left out… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple's EU App Store changes are big, and a preview of what's coming in the US
Apple's changes to its terms and fees for developers distributing in the European Union is a premonition of reduced commissions for developers that could soon come to the United States.Apple's attempts to comply with EU rules has led to new app transaction fees - Image Credit: AppleApple is waging two wars over the App Store, on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, it's dealing with the European Commission and the European Union demanding changes to how the App Store earns income, especially for transactions outside the App Store.There has already been massive change, in the form of the Digital Markets Act, forcing Apple to allow alternative app stores in the E.U. The fees Apple can extract from transactions, however, are still up for debate. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple pulls AI ‘nudify’ app promoted in Meta ads
WIRED reports that Meta ran ads for a now-pulled App Store app that let users create AI-generated pornographic deepfakes of real people, with one of the ads featuring a woman resembling a prominent US politician. Here are the details.

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Next Apple Watch activity challenge supports national parks
Apple Watch users can mark their calendars for the next activity challenge. The 2026 National Parks Challenge is set for this Sunday, August 23.

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Apple’s AI stance turns into stock market baggage as investor sentiment shifts
Apple’s positioning as a relative outsider to the artificial intelligence spending boom - which had propelled its shares earlier in 2026… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Safari 26.6.1 patches multiple WebKit security flaws on macOS Sonoma and Sequoia
Following yesterday’s wave of point updates with security fixes, Apple has now detailed the security content of Safari 26.6.1. Here are the details.

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Apple pledges relief after deadly Indonesia earthquake
Apple is donating to first responders and relief efforts in Indonesia following the deadly earthquake that has left thousands displaced and triggered more than a 1,000 aftershocks.Apple to donate to Indonesian earthquake reliefOn August 16, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia. At the time of publication, the death toll is near 70.Over 200 have been injured, and thousands more have been driven from their homes. According to Reuters, nearly 1,000 aftershocks were detected in the 24 hours following the initial strike. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple pledges relief after deadly Indonesia earthquake
Apple is donating to first responders and relief efforts in Indonesia following the deadly earthquake that has left thousands displaced and triggered more than a 1,000 aftershocks.Apple to donate to Indonesian earthquake reliefOn August 16, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia. At the time of publication, the death toll is near 70.Over 200 have been injured, and thousands more have been driven from their homes. According to Reuters, nearly 1,000 aftershocks were detected in the 24 hours following the initial strike. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple pledges relief after deadly Indonesia earthquake
Apple is donating to first responders and relief efforts in Indonesia following the deadly earthquake that has left thousands displaced and triggered more than a 1,000 aftershocks.Apple to donate to Indonesian earthquake reliefOn August 16, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia. At the time of publication, the death toll is near 70.Over 200 have been injured, and thousands more have been driven from their homes. According to Reuters, nearly 1,000 aftershocks were detected in the 24 hours following the initial strike. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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