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Benjamin Mayo

bzamayo

Follow Benjamin on Twitter to keep up with his latest projects. Benjamin blogs about Apple news and rumors and posts insightful product and app reviews. Read his work on 9to5Mac and his personal blog.

Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.

on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.

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iOS 26 tells you how long it will take for your iPhone battery to finish charging

iPhone battery settings get a nice update in iOS 26, including a new intelligent battery saver mode called Adaptive Power. The iPhone will also now track extra battery stats, like your average power consumption throughout the day.

But perhaps the most notable enhancement is that the iPhone can now tell you exactly how long it will take for your battery to charge. Right at the top of your lock screen, when plugged in to power, your phone will now show the estimated time to charge until it hits 80%.

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Why is it called iOS 26? What happened to iOS 19 for iPhone

So, Apple just held its annual WWDC conference where it announces all the new software for the next year. And the company proudly announced the next version of iOS for the iPhone, iOS 26. If you have an iPhone model newer than the XS, you will be able to update to iOS 26 for free later this year.

But the current version number of iOS is iOS 18. So what happened to iOS 19? Why did Apple jump to 26?

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Apple will end support for Intel Macs next year, macOS 27 will require Apple Silicon

During the Platforms State of the Union at WWDC, Apple just announced that macOS 26 Tahoe will be the last release of macOS that supports Intel. That means from next year, major new versions of Apple’s desktop operating system will only run on Apple Silicon Macs (that is, 2020 M1 models and newer).

Of course, Intel Macs will continue to get critical security updates for some time thereafter. But users should not expect to be able to update to get new features from macOS 27 onwards, as no Intel Mac will be supported on macOS 27.

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iOS 26 adds light mode icon tinting and several new ways to customize the icons on your iPhone home screen

The iPhone home screen gets a brand new look with iOS 26, thanks to a visual overhaul featuring a brand new set of icons for all of Apple’s apps, as well as glass and reflection effects throughout.

There are also more ways than ever for you to customize your icons, with new tinting options and styles. Here’s everything new.

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Apple overhauls Vision Pro Personas feature, now with much higher-quality 3D avatars

As part of visionOS 26, Apple is overhauling the Personas feature for Apple Vision Pro users. Personas are the 3D avatars the system uses during FaceTime calls when the user is wearing the headset.

When Vision Pro launched last year, Personas were widely criticized due to their uncanny valley appearance — and the whole feature was labelled as a ‘beta’ in the OS. Apple has been gradually improving the fidelity of the avatars with every release, and visionOS 26 takes the most dramatic step forward yet.

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Here’s when iOS 26 will be available in public beta

All of Apple’s operating systems got a major overhaul today, heralded by a new system theme featuring Liquid Glass elements. Apple also updated its naming scheme to a unified numbering system based on the calendar year, so rather than iOS 19, it’s now iOS 26. And macOS 26. And watchOS 26. And tvOS 26. And iPadOS 26. And visionOS 26.

If you aren’t developer, you’ll be able to try out all these new software updates for free by installing the public beta in July. The OS’s will be released for all users in the fall, probably in September.

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Apple will let third-party developers use Apple Intelligence models to empower their apps

Apple today announced a new framework, called Foundation Models, that will allow developers to access the same models that power on-device Apple Intelligence. This will let third-party apps easily offer AI features.

Because these models run locally using the Apple Silicon chips on your iPhone or iPad, they can be made available wholly offline, and with no associated cloud API costs.

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A new Apple Games web domain has just gone live, ahead of WWDC announcement

Apple Games app

One of the new features expected for iOS 19 (which we expect now to be named iOS 26) is a new Apple Games app. The Games app will curate games from the App Store and Apple Arcade, as well as blend in some social features like achievements and friends leaderboards from Game Center.

Ahead of its official unveiling at WWDC, Apple is seemingly preparing the way. A new games.apple.com domain has just gone live … although right now it just resolves to a blank page.

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iOS 26: ‘Liquid Glass’ UI elements to define new OS redesign for iPhone

iOS 26 rainbow

Tomorrow, at 10 AM Pacific Time, Apple will unveil the next-generation versions of its operating systems, including iOS 19 (now expected to be named iOS 26) for iPhone. The flagship change for the new iPhone software will be a dramatic visual redesign, which the company will also roll out across all of its other operating systems for a consistent new look on every Apple device.

In the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, he specifically references that Apple will show off new “Liquid Glass” UI elements. This means users can expect the OS to make ample use of translucent-glass like materials, and visual flair like specular highlights.

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Apple in the running to land streaming rights for MLB Sunday Night Baseball

Apple is said to be in talks with Major League Baseball to pick up streaming broadcast rights, especially focused on the Sunday Night Baseball games. The negotiations ensued after ESPN declined to renew its deal beyond the 2025 season.

The package of games that make up the former ESPN deal has drawn interest from Apple, NBC and others. It is likely the league will try to carve up the package into different buckets, to attract both a modern streaming audience and the eyeballs of traditional broadcast TV viewers.

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Here’s the TV shows and movies coming in June on Apple TV+

While Apple regularly gets lambasted for lack of promotion for its streaming service, Apple TV+, the company seems to be trying harder in recent weeks. It just dropped a ‘New for June’ sizzle reel, hyping what users can expect to stream on the service this month.

The new premieres include comedy series Stick, movie Echo Valley, season two of The Buccaneers, and Taron Egerton drama Smoke. Here’s everything new on Apple TV+ in June …

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Apple appeals EU law that requires it to share sensitive user data with others

Apple EU

Apple has appealed parts of the Digital Markets Act law citing user privacy concerns. Specifically, Apple is contesting the interoperability requirements that say data like notification content and WiFi networks should be made available to third-parties.

Apple says the DMA as written allows others to “access personal information that even Apple doesn’t see”. This is because features like notification rendering and WiFi network data are currently handled on-device and stored in an encrypted fashion, so Apple cannot see that stuff. However, the DMA does not necessarily require third-party agents who would be able to access this same data to commit to the same standards of privacy and security.

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Apple Watch and Apple TV operating systems to receive major design changes at WWDC alongside iOS 19

Apple is gearing up for a sweeping set announcements at WWDC, kicking off on June 9, as reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

We’ve been hearing about a significant redesign coming as part of iOS 19 for iPhone and iPad, as well as design updates for macOS 16 too. However, it turns out Apple’s ambitions are even greater. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says that both watchOS and tvOS will also see significant redesigns, and visionOS will get some touch-ups as well.

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Trump demands Apple make iPhones in the United States, threatens new 25% tariff if they don’t

President Trump has just blasted Apple in a post on his account on TruthSocial. The president said that he has “long ago informed” Apple CEO Tim Cook that iPhones sold in the United States should be manufactured and built in the United States, “not India, or anyplace else”.

He continues by threatening that if this does not happen, “a tariff of least 25% must be paid by Apple”. The details of the ‘tariff’ are unclear, but the outburst has nonetheless shook investors and Apple company stock has already dropped 3% in response to the announcement.

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Log your weight in Apple Health quickly and cheaply with this iPhone-compatible smart scale

After my last WiFi-enabled smart scale broke and refused to connect to the Internet anymore, I sought something simpler and cheaper to replace it. The old scale had all sorts of fancy service integrations that I never used. I just wanted something that would track my weight and report the measurements to the Health app on my iPhone.

The Eufy C20 smart scale is what I landed on and I’m very happy with it — and it’s pretty cheap too. Here’s how it works …

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Apple TV+ announces brand new Peanuts musical special featuring Snoopy and the gang

Apple just announced the first new musical Peanuts special in more than three decades. The new instalment entitled ‘Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical’ will stream on Apple TV+ on July 18.

The special hails from Apple’s deal with WildBrain, where TV+ is the streaming home of all classic Peanuts specials as well as new originals. A feature-length animated Snoopy movie is also currently in development.

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iOS 19 to add new bilingual Arabic software keyboard, virtual calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil

iOS 19 hero

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman continues his iOS 19 tidbits streak by revealing two upcoming new features in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, which was published today.

Gurman says that iOS 19 will include a major localization focus on supporting customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India. Specifically, that entails a new Arabic-English software keyboard for iPhone and a new calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users.

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OWC announces Thunderbolt 5 dock, adding 11 ports to your M4 MacBook Pro

OWC has just announced their new OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock, adding up to 11 ports of I/O expansion for your M4 MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max, which was the first Apple laptop to feature the latest generation of Thunderbolt port. It joins the likes of the Anker Prime Docking Station and the CalDigit E5 in the market. The OWC dock is set to start shipping in July.

Thunderbolt 5 enables higher bandwidth, which allows the OWC dock to sport three daisy-chained Thunderbolt 5 ports, as well as power things like 2.5Gb/s Ethernet, and feed multiple high-res external displays.

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Kuo: No major AirPods hardware updates until AirPods Pro 3 in 2026

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today tweeted that he does not forecast major updates to the AirPods lineup coming this year. Instead, he reiterates that new AirPods Pro with Infrared cameras are set to arrive in 2026.

This contradicts reporting from other publications that have suggested AirPods Pro 3 will launch in 2025, including new features such as improved active noise cancellation.

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