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9to5Mac's daily podcast episode for September 8, 2026 rounds up recent reporting on rumored HomePod developments and anticipated changes to the App Store. The episode is available across major podcast platforms and is sponsored by productivity app Stuff and device-management tool iMazing.
Apple's iOS 27 update overhauls the Home app with Apple Intelligence features, letting it summarize alerts from doorbells and smoke detectors instead of flooding the lock screen with notifications. Cameras gain improved AI-based detection of faces and animals, can stitch together footage of a person moving through multiple rooms, and now record in 4K with AI-generated video descriptions and searchable events. The update also lets users update all Apple TVs at once from the Home app and improves overall app reliability.
Meta AI has released Muse, a new personal AI agent available as an iPhone app and through the web at muse.ai for Mac users. The app lets users customize their agent's name and avatar, and offers free access with weekly usage limits, while paid subscribers get expanded access. Muse is currently limited to the US, with plans to expand to more countries over time.
Sonos has released its Sonos 27 app update for all S2-compatible hardware, adopting a new year-based naming convention similar to iOS. The update lets pairs of portable speakers like Move 2 or Sonos Play act as rear surrounds with a compatible soundbar, introduces a redesigned navigation interface with swipe gestures and pinned rooms, and adds early-access features for headphone-speaker audio handoff and third-party AI assistant integration.
Apple's tvOS 27 update, arriving later this month, brings a redesigned Podcasts app with support for HLS-based video podcasts, mirroring similar additions in iOS 26.4 and macOS 27. However, the update removes the ability to add shows via custom URL feeds, a feature often used for paid or membership-only podcasts, on the Apple TV 4K version of the app.
Amazon has reduced the price of Netgear's Orbi 770 Series tri-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh system from $549.99 to $449.99, an 18% cut. The system spans 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands on one unified network, offers combined speeds up to roughly 11 Gbps, and covers about 5,500 to 8,000 square feet depending on the bundle size.
Meta is rolling out a redesigned insights panel for Threads that uses AI to summarize how individual posts and overall accounts are performing, comparing metrics like views, likes and reposts to a user's recent activity. The update also identifies which interest-based communities are driving engagement on posts and profiles, though link-click data remains absent from the analytics.
Ahead of Apple's expected unveiling of Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12, leaker pdfu found references in watchOS 27 code pointing to a new Readiness app placed near Workout on the home screen, expanded strength-training logging with sets, reps, weight and equipment data, a new optical sensor system, and possible 128GB of storage tied to a new chip. The same leaker previously surfaced details on HomePod surround sound and iOS 27 camera features.
Android Authority found evidence in Google app version 17.56.14 that Song Search could soon run in the background, letting users switch apps while it keeps listening for a track. A notification would alert users when a song is identified, tapping which now leads to an AI Mode result instead of a standard search page.
Developer pdfu found unreleased code in the iOS 27 beta's Camera app suggesting Apple is testing four professional-grade features, including histogram and waveform exposure scopes and focus peaking tools. These functions aren't currently active in any released beta but appear to be built into the app's underlying code, according to the discovery.
Meta has moved its agentic AI assistant, Muse, into a limited closed testing phase, according to Testing Catalog, gating access through a waitlist and invite codes. An App Store listing reveals the app can connect to Gmail, Google Calendar, health apps, and even users' bank accounts and cards to track spending and suggest canceling unused subscriptions.
GrapheneOS announced it is issuing a new OS build to fix a volume bar UI bug introduced by an upstream Android security patch, along with a Private Space interface issue. As a result, the long-in-development overhaul of its Messaging app, which the team has worked on for months, will now arrive after this maintenance release rather than alongside it.