Soaring Memory Prices Dampen Demand for Budget Smartphones
Rising DRAM and NAND prices are squeezing budget smartphones, forcing manufacturers to cut features while premium models continue advancing, widening the gap between low-cost and flagship devices. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Read more »

This leaked WhatsApp feature could make iCloud a lot less important
A future WhatsApp cloud backup service could free iPhone users from iCloud while making cross-platform chat transfers far less painful. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

This leaked WhatsApp feature could make iCloud a lot less important
A future WhatsApp cloud backup service could free iPhone users from iCloud while making cross-platform chat transfers far less painful. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

Waze now learns your preferences, and gets more conversational but less chatty
Navigation app Waze is rolling out an update to its iPhone and Android app to introduce three new AI-powered features. The first uses your journey history to understand your routing preferences in order to provide personalized navigation options …

Read more »

Safety regulator says Apple needs to do more to combat sextortion
An online safety regulator has said that tech giants need to do more to combat sextortion (sexual extortion), naming Apple, Meta and Google among the companies who need to do better. Victims of sexual blackmail tend to be younger, including children below the age of 16 …

Read more »

Don’t install the iOS 27 public beta until you read this
Macworld After announcing iOS 27 last month with a beta version for developers, Apple is now rolling out the first public beta of the new operating system, giving iPhone and iPad users the chance to try out the biggest update of the year without a developer account. If you’ve been following the path of iOS 27, you’ve probably seen the headlines about the new Siri AI, redesigned interface, and dozens of quality-of-life improvements. It’s tempting to install the beta the moment it becomes available. I’ve been running iOS 27 since the first developer beta, both on my primary iPhone and on an older iPhone 11 Pro Max to evaluate performance. It’s already shaping up to be one of the strongest iOS updates in years, but there are a few important things you should know before making the jump. Beta software is still beta software Apple’s public betas are generally more stable than the first developer builds, but don’t mistake “polished” for “finished.” Even though the most obvious bugs have already been fixed, you’ll likely still notice some crashes, unexpected battery drain, apps that don’t work as expected, and features that simply stop working from time to time. In my experience running each of the iOS 27 betas, stability has improved considerably since the first release. In fact, in some ways, iOS 27 seems much more stable than iOS 26, because Apple has paid special attention to optimizing the software for better performance this year. iOS 27 has some great improvements, but there may be some things that don’t work.Apple That said, bugs are still a thing. It’s not bad. But it’s not 100 percent reliable either. If you rely on your iPhone or iPad for work, or simply can’t handle unexpected issues, it’s worth asking yourself whether you really need the iOS 27 beta right now. The final release is only about two months away. Don’t expect every app to work perfectly Most popular apps seem to be working fine with the latest iOS 27 beta, but there are always a few exceptions. Banking apps, authentication apps, VPN clients, smart home software, business tools, and games are often among the apps that show some kind of incompatibility with beta software. Some apps may crash immediately after launch. Others may have subtle bugs that only appear during everyday use. Before installing the beta, think about which apps you absolutely cannot live without. If one of them breaks until the next update, would you be able to work without it? It’s also worth checking out other users’ reports on sites like the Apple Support Community or even Reddit to see if a specific app is working well with iOS 27 beta. And remember: apps won’t be updated with full support for iOS 27 until this fall, when the new software will be officially released to the public. There’s a waitlist for Siri AI in the iOS 27 beta.Apple Siri AI won’t be available right away One of the biggest highlights of iOS 27 is certainly Siri AI. Apple has completely revamped its virtual assistant with new AI models that are capable of understanding the context of your device and all your personal data to answer questions. Most of the people rushing to install iOS 27 will want to try that out first. However, although Siri AI is already available in the iOS 27 beta, you won’t be able to use it right after updating your device. That’s because there’s a waiting list to enable the new Siri, similar to how Apple introduced Apple Intelligence back in 2024. After installing iOS 27, eligible users can request access, but activation may take anywhere from a few hours to several days. Even then, Siri AI only works on supported devices with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or later, and Macs and iPads with the M1 chip or later). If you’re installing the beta mainly to try out the new Siri AI, it’s worth setting your expectations. You may have to wait a little longer before these features become available to you. Be prepared for frequent updates Installing a beta version of iOS isn’t a one-time commitment. Apple typically releases new beta builds every two weeks, and sometimes faster than that as it rushes to fix bugs ahead of the official fall release. So be prepared to frequently download and install iOS updates on your device. Most of the time, this is a good sign, since updates include lots of bug fixes. But sometimes a new beta can introduce a new bug that won’t be fixed until a week or two later. If you install the iOS 27 beta, you’re going to want to back up your iPhone first.Apple Properly back up your data first The best advice for anyone wanting to install the iOS 27 beta is to back up your iPhone or iPad before updating. If anything goes wrong, or if you simply decide to go back to iOS 26, you’ll be glad you have a backup with all your data. Without a backup, you can still downgrade to iOS 26, but you’ll lose all your data. Ideally, create an archived backup on your Mac or PC. Unlike an iCloud backup, an archived local backup won’t be overwritten automatically, making it much easier to restore your device to its previous state if necessary. While iCloud backups are extremely useful, they will eventually be updated with iOS 27 data, making it unusable for downgrading. On your Mac or PC, you can archive a backup by following the steps below: Open the Finder (Mac) or the Apple Devices app (Windows). Connect your device to the computer using a USB cable. Find your device in the sidebar list. If necessary, enter your passcode on your iPhone or iPad to trust a new computer. Click “Back Up Now” to save a new backup. After finishing, click “Manage Backups.” Right-click the backup you want, then select the “Archive” option. This will ensure that your iOS 26 backup remains stored on your computer, even if you later create a new backup containing data from the iOS 27 beta. Should you install the iOS 27 beta? If you’re comfortable troubleshooting occasional bugs and want early access to Apple’s newest features, the iOS 27 public beta is likely worth trying. This year’s release feels more polished than many previous first public betas, and Apple has made meaningful improvements beyond the headline AI features. On the other hand, if you only have one iPhone or iPad and rely on it for work, are planning to travel soon, or simply don’t want to deal with bugs, waiting for the final release in September is still the wisest choice. The public beta gives you an early look at the future of the iPhone. Just remember that you’re also volunteering to help Apple finish building it.

Read more »

Apple’s accusations against OpenAI are the stuff of AI nightmares
Macworld Who says summer is slow for Apple news?! Apple sues OpenAI for theft of trade secrets [over-the-top very obviously fake gasp] The most egregious of the allegations is against former Apple senior systems electrical engineer Chang Liu, who Apple says did almost everything short of stealing John Ternus’s Trapper Keeper marked “BIG SECRETS, DO NOT TAKE OUT OF APPLE PARK, EYES ONLY, THIS MEANS YOU!” under which there is a poorly drawn skull and crossbones, and personally delivering it while cackling to Sam Altman. To be fair, Apple does say the current allegations are just “the tip of the iceberg” so maybe he did that, too. The Wall Street Journal offered a take that one might be inclined to describe as “OpenAI-friendly,” assuming one is able to read and digest information and has a subscription to The Wall Street Journal: Apple’s ‘Thermonuclear’ Response to the OpenAI Threat In one of his last acts as Apple’s chief executive before successor John Ternus takes over… It’s July and he doesn’t step aside (up, over, around, whatever) until September, so it’s more realistically one of his last 10,000 acts but, okay, sure. [OpenAI] has built powerful AI models and is working toward an unspecified “family of devices” to run them, devices that could supplant Apple’s. That is a load-bearing “could” there and if you pull it out all the letters in the article come tumbling off of your screen and spill all over your desk and keyboard so be careful. Apple’s innovation engine failed to develop hit AI products and features, leaving it vulnerable to new entrants. The first half of that sentence is technically true, but when the most popular AI endeavors are all deep in the red, it’s not exactly clear why you’d want to have a hit AI product. Sure, things can change, but the Macalope will take the vulnerability exhibited by record quarter after record quarter any day. You could also note that no AI company has created a hit hardware product of any kind, period. Simply assuming they’re going to soon is some real magical thinking. If you’d like to receive regular news and updates to your inbox, sign up for our newsletters, including The Macalope and Apple Breakfast, David Price’s weekly, bite-sized roundup of all the latest Apple news and rumors. Foundry In discussing Apple’s rivals, WSJ brings up other ongoing litigation involving the company. Elon Musk has also chafed at Apple’s control of the digital economy. A unit of SpaceX is suing Apple for disadvantaging its AI app… Yes, let’s turn now to the feelings of a guy who, it has been charged, is responsible for the deaths of over 700,000 people because of his know-nothing involvement in international aid. Say, remember how Musk offered to end world hunger if someone would just show him how it’s possible, and several people did and Musk, a la Mr. Burns, said “Mmm, no, I’d still prefer not”? Here the Macalope would often quip “Good times.” but the times were not, in fact, good in any way. One wonders how much more horrible stuff Musk has to do to stop getting treated as just a standard businessman engaged in simple business things by the press. Anyway, Musk is “chafed” because his porn machine isn’t higher in the App Store rankings. Apple has said that its App Store relies on algorithms and expert curation and doesn’t suppress rivals… Apple says it doesn’t suppress rivals but who knows, really? A rather telling detail left out of that anecdote is who Musk thinks Apple is in cahoots with in disadvantaging his AI app. That would be a little company called OpenAI. As John Gruber notes, it’s a little odd that Apple would still be deliberately favoring OpenAI given that it’s now suing the company. The irony of Apple’s case against OpenAI is that Apple itself has so frequently been accused of stealing other companies’ ideas that it has spawned a new verb, “sherlocking,”… Oh, yes, let’s conflate copying a feature someone else implemented by re-making it yourself from scratch with stealing the method someone else came up with in order to make something. There is a rather big difference between making your own spreadsheet software and stealing the source code to Excel, recompiling it and try to sell it as AAA Spreadsheet. You’d think a publication that purports to specialize in business would know that. The stupid thing is there is a better example WSJ could have used here: the Apple Watch blood oxygen patent infringement suit. But it just couldn’t resist there being a nickname for Apple copying features. WSJ concludes by saying Apple won’t be able to rely on legal means to beat AI hardware, that ultimately it… …falls to product development, an area where Ternus will have to surpass his predecessor if he wants to maintain Jobs’s legacy. It’s a shame he doesn’t have any expertise in product development. Wait. One word you won’t find in this article is “bubble.” WSJ simply takes it as writ that the AI revolution is real and spectacular, and Apple is desperate to prevent these companies from creating their iPhone-killing hardware. Which they’re going to do while hemorrhaging money and engaged in enough infighting to embarrass the Borgias. The recent backlash against AI and data centers does not merit a word. Does Apple want to hamstring OpenAI’s hardware efforts? Sure. Even if it doesn’t think they’ll amount to much, why wouldn’t it? Does it want to simple dig through OpenAI’s emails and see what turns up? That sounds like fun! But does it also feel that it has a solid case against OpenAI, a company that already has a serious reputation as a bad actor for any number of reasons and for whom stealing things is simply second nature? Yeah, probably.

Read more »

Apple @ Work Podcast: Breaking down the recent IDC PC shipment report
Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple. In this episode of Apple @ Work, Jitesh Ubrani joins the show to discuss IDC’s recent PC shipment report, where shipments declined, but revenue rose.

Read more »

Run Windows-only apps on your Mac with Windows 11 Pro for $9.97
Macworld TL;DR: Get Microsoft Windows 11 Pro for $9.97 instead of $199 and use it to run Windows-only apps through compatible virtualization software or Boot Camp. This deal ends July 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Your Mac may cover nearly everything, but “nearly” can become a problem when work software, games, utilities, or legacy programs only run on Windows. This Windows 11 Pro lifetime deal is a much less expensive way to add that compatibility to your Mac. Bring Windows-only software into your Mac workflow Virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion can let you run Windows and macOS side by side without rebooting. That makes it easier to open a Windows-only app, switch back to your Mac software, and keep your workflow moving. Owners of compatible Intel-based Macs may also be able to use Boot Camp, which creates a dedicated Windows partition for native performance. Unlike virtualization, switching between macOS and Windows requires restarting the computer. Owning Windows 11 Pro also means you have access too tools such as BitLocker drive encryption, Remote Desktop, virtual desktops, and Snap Layouts for organizing open windows — all without recurring subscription fees. Own your own copy of Windows 11 Pro for $9.97 (reg. $199) before the deal ends July 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Microsoft Windows 11 ProSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

Read more »

How to use Playlist Playground to build Apple Music playlists in seconds
Apple Music's Playlist Playground feature is a prompt-driven playlist builder that's fast and surprisingly useful, even if it won't replace a carefully curated mix. Here's how to start playing, and how well it works.Apple Music's new Playlist PlaygroundApple added Playlist Playground to Apple Music on March 24 with iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4. It lets users build playlists by describing what they want instead of adding songs one by one.Building playlists in Apple Music takes time, especially when you're chasing a specific mood. Playlist Playground cuts that down to a few seconds, making it useful as a starting point. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

iOS 27 public beta: Should you install it on your iPhone?
The iOS 27 public beta is now available, and it’s full of major new features. Should you install it on your iPhone? Here’s everything you need to know.

Read more »

OpenAI could force Apple into an awkward fight with Jony Ive
While Apple did its best to insulate Jony Ive in its lawsuit against OpenAI, the company may not be able to keep its former design chief out of the fight. Here’s why.

Read more »

Second report says Apple posted its strongest-ever Q2 for iPhone shipments amid market downturn
Adding to an earlier report from Counterpoint Research that showed Apple posting its strongest-ever second quarter for iPhone shipments, Omdia has now published its own figures pointing to the same record performance. Here are the details.

Read more »

iOS 27 public beta arrives, and it’s stable enough to trust
Anyone can download the iOS 27 public beta, which brings new Apple Intelligence tools. Grab it now and sign up for the Siri AI waitlist. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

The OS 27 public betas are out now with Siri AI, platform improvements, and more
Macworld Apple has released the OS 27 operating system betas to those who have signed up for the Public Beta. That includes iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27. The headline feature is of course Siri AI, a new conversational, full-chatbot-style Siri that is far more capable and can mine your iPhone for details to aid it its answers. The other big improvements include major platform improvements to make everything faster, smoother, and more consistent, a big overhaul to trust and safety features for families, and other big AI enhancements throughout the system. For more on all the new features in the OS 27 updates, and to see if your device is compatible, check out our iOS 27 guide and macOS 27 guide. The first beta builds are based of the most recent Developer Beta releases. That means Beta 3, released on July 3 for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS. For iPadOS and macOS, Apple released an updated “version 2” of the Beta 3 build for developers today, and the public beta carries that same build number. How to join Apple’s Public Beta Program The public beta is accessible to anyone with a valid Apple ID. Visit the Apple Beta Software Program webpage and click Sign Up. Sign in with your Apple ID and agree to the terms and conditions. Select the operating system you want to test – such as iOS, iPadOS, or macOS – and follow the prompts to enroll your device. Enable Updates: On iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and select the Public Beta. On Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update. Click the information (i) icon next to Beta Updates and choose the Public Beta.

Read more »

OpenAI Shuffles ChatGPT Apps, Kills Atlas Browser, Improves Voice
OpenAI has replaced its Mac apps with a confusing 1.45 GB amalgamation, killed its ChatGPT Atlas Web browser after less than a year, and boosted ChatGPT Voice by backing it with more capable models.

Read more »

Apple TV series ‘Lucky,’ starring Anya Taylor-Joy is ‘a propulsive crime thriller’ – The Independent
“Lucky” centers on a young woman (Anya Taylor-Joy) who left behind the life of crime she was raised in years ago, but must now embrace… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

iPadOS 27 & macOS 27 beta 3 get a version 2 update as public betas drop
It's OS 27 public beta day, but developer beta testers are getting a little treat with version 2 updates of the iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 beta 3 release.iPadOS 27 beta 3 got a version 2 updateWhile it isn't clear exactly what Apple might have changed in its second version of macOS 27 beta 3 and iPadOS 27 beta 3, they are now available. Every other OS 27 beta retained its beta 3 build numbers for the public beta.The build number for macOS 27 beta 3 version 2 is 26A5378n, up from 26A5368g. The iPadOS 27 beta 3 version 2 build number is 24A5380I, up from 24A5370h. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

9to5Mac Daily: July 13, 2026 – Apple sues OpenAI
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.

Read more »

tvOS 27 and HomePod 27 public betas now available, here’s what’s new
Apple has just released tvOS 27 in public beta, so any Apple TV 4K user can install the software in advance of its fall launch. HomePod 27 is available in public beta too. Here’s what’s new.

Read more »