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Apple's iOS 27 update brings five notable changes to Apple Music: a landscape layout that pairs artwork with lyrics, an improved AutoMix feature with smoother transitions now also coming to tvOS and HomePod, redesigned artist pages with fullscreen color backgrounds, and a new weekly 'Friends' playlist that surfaces what people in your network are streaming.
Apple's new AirPods 5 bring a noticeable jump in sound quality, with improved bass and more detailed instrumentation compared to the AirPods 4, according to a hands-on review. The earbuds also gain active noise cancellation that handles steady background noise like HVAC hum well, though human voices remain harder to block out fully.
A new wave of screenless wearable devices is gaining popularity as alternatives to mainstream smartwatches like the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, and Pixel Watch. These minimalist gadgets focus on health tracking without a display, appealing to users who want fitness and biometric data without the distractions of a screen.
Apple's Watch Ultra 4 introduces a revamped sensor system with five-second heart rate readings, an improved pedometer, and a new Readiness feature that combines recent activity and sleep data. Samsung's Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 counters with an expanded Vitals suite in its Health app, offering daily blood pressure estimates, a Heart Health Score, antioxidant readings, and trail-running hydration guidance. Both devices share core safety tools like Emergency SOS, fall detection, and alert sirens, though only Apple's watch adds crash detection.
A newly launched web simulator invites users to try their hand at designing a hypothetical next-generation iPhone, offering a playful interface for experimenting with device concepts. The tool is aimed at Apple fans who want to sketch out features and aesthetics without any real engineering constraints.
Mophie's MagSafe 3-in-1 Charging Stand, which charges an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously, is now on sale at roughly 49 percent off its usual price. The stand's standout feature is a telescoping pole that lets the iPhone pad extend from 7.5 to 16 inches and tilt, and the charger is both MFi and Qi certified, delivering up to 15 watts to the phone and 5 watts each to the watch and earbuds. It ships with a 36-watt power supply and a 5-foot USB-C cable.
Counterpoint Research reports that worldwide smartwatch shipments declined 4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, as consumers kept existing devices longer rather than upgrading. Huawei topped the market in total shipments, while Apple posted the strongest growth rate among the five leading brands. Counterpoint projects only 1% shipment growth for the full year.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman denied OpenAI's request to access the confidential terms of a settlement between X, SpaceX AI, and Apple in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit. X and SpaceX AI plan to drop their claims against Apple after reaching the deal, but the case continues against OpenAI. Pittman reviewed the agreement privately and concluded it holds no information pertinent to the remaining dispute.
Omdia data show Apple shipped 16.8 million true wireless stereo earbuds in Q2 2026, up 1.2% year over year, giving it 20.5% market share even as the overall TWS category shrank 0.7%. Meanwhile, the open wireless stereo segment—clip-on and ear-hook designs that leave the ear canal open—grew 12%, led by Shokz with a 10.3% share after 107.9% growth.
Apple appeared before a UK court seeking to overturn secrecy rules that bar it from confirming whether the government has ordered access to encrypted iCloud data. The case follows reports that Britain had secretly demanded a backdoor into encrypted iCloud content, a demand Apple responded to by pulling Advanced Data Protection for new UK users rather than weakening encryption globally. After the U.S. government pushed back, Britain narrowed its original worldwide request but later issued a fresh notice aimed specifically at UK-based Apple users.
Apple's macOS 27 Golden Gate update skips a visual overhaul for Photos but packs in a new Tools pane with Apple Intelligence features, including an upgraded Clean Up tool, a generative Extend tool for expanding images, and a Spatial Reframing option that builds a 3D scene model to shift camera perspective. iCloud Shared Albums also gain full-resolution sharing across all photo and video formats and now let Android and Windows users contribute via iCloud.com.
Apple is hosting a three-day photography exhibition in New York City, running September 18-20, featuring work by photographers Alex Prager, Jack Davison, and Jimmy Chin shot entirely on the iPhone 18 Pro. Curated by former New York Times Magazine photo director Kathy Ryan, the show titled 'What Holds Us' spans subjects from mountain climbers in British Columbia to intimate portraits inside a London warehouse.