Apple's biggest product event of the year happens in September, when the company puts out a new batch of iPhones and Apple Watches and other odds and ends. But in most years, Apple either has another smaller event or just a handful of additional product announcements later in the fall in October or November—usually the focus is on the Mac, the iPad, or both.

It seems like a new iPad Pro could be one of the announcements on tap. Russian YouTube channel Wylsacom has posted an unboxing video and early tour of what appears to be a retail boxed version of a new 256GB 13-inch iPad Pro, as well as an M5 processor that we haven't seen in any other Apple product yet. This would be the first new iPad Pro since May of 2024, when Apple introduced the current M4 version.

The same channel also got ahold of the M4 MacBook Pro early, so it seems likely that this is genuine. And while the video is mostly dedicated to complaining about packaging, the wattage of the included power adapter, and how boring it is that Apple doesn't introduce dramatic design changes every generation, it does also give us some early performance numbers for the new M5.

While we don't have details on the chip's manufacturing process or other changes, quick Geekbench 6 runs show the M5 in this iPad Pro improving CPU performance by roughly 10 to 15 percent and GPU performance by about 34 percent, compared to the M4 in the old iPad Pro.

This M5 includes three high-performance CPU cores and six high-efficiency CPU cores, the same core count as the 256GB and 512GB versions of the M4 iPad Pro (the 1TB and 2TB iPads and the M4 Macs all get one additional performance core, for a total of four, and we'd bet it's the same way for the M5). We don't know how many GPU cores the M5 has, though given the larger performance improvements it's at least theoretically possible that Apple has added additional graphics cores on top of the 10 that the M4 includes. Higher clock speeds, faster RAM, architectural improvements, or a mix of all three could also explain the jump.

Also notably, the M5 starts with 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB of RAM in the 256GB and 512GB M4 iPad Pro. The Apple A19 Pro in the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro also includes 12GB of RAM. Higher-end M5 chips will probably be available with more—the M4 goes up to 16GB in some iPads and 32GB in Macs—but we'll need to wait and see whether "more" means 16GB, 18GB, 24GB, or some other number. Regardless, it's nice to see a higher RAM floor for the iPad Pro, especially given the multitasking changes in iPadOS 26.

New chip, same iPad?

This purported M5 iPad Pro features no major design changes, aside from Apple removing the iPad branding and other regulatory markings from the back (recent iPhones have done this, too, as did the other iPads Apple announced earlier this year). Compatibility with accessories and cases should be the same as for the M4 model—hopefully this also extends to the Apple Pencil Pro. The basic look of the iPad Pro since the first round-cornered version of it was announced in 2018 was the same, though the M4 model did make the tablet thinner and lighter than it had been before, and required the new Pencil Pro accessory for drawing and writing.

Apple used Macs to debut the M1, M2, and M3 chips, but the company introduced the M4 chip in last year's iPad Pro. Putting the M5 in an iPad Pro first, or possibly at the same time as a new round of M5 MacBook Pros, wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

The M4 introduction came as a surprise because Apple had only introduced the first M3 chips a few months before that iPad Pro announcement. The gaps between Apple's other chip generations had been closer to a year-and-a-half or so; assuming the M5 is introduced as part of a late-October announcement, the gap between the M4 and M5 would be closer to the historical norm.

If this iPad Pro is real, we'll likely see it again sometime in the next few weeks, possibly alongside a new round of MacBook Pros or other devices.

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Posted Wednesday 1 October 2025 at 6:34 am AEST (my time).

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The Reminders app received several useful updates with iOS 18 last year, including support for recently deleted reminders, multilingual grocery lists, and Calendar integration, which allows you to view, create, and edit reminders directly in the Calendar app.

Let's talk about the new features you can find in the Reminders app after installing iOS 26. If you haven't installed iOS 26 yet, read about the ten things you should do before installing the update.

1. Time Zone support

The Reminders app now lets you select a time zone. You can choose a universal time zone for the entire app by going to Settings > Apps > Reminders > Time Zone. Here, turn on the "Set Manually" toggle switch, then tap "Time Zone" and search for your desired location.

You can also select specific time zones for individual reminders. When creating a new reminder in the app, tap on the "Time" toggle button to select the time zone for the reminder.

By default, the Reminders app uses the time zone of your device's current location. When you switch to a manual time zone, the timing of notifications for existing reminders remains unaffected.

2. Create reminders quickly

Apple has added a new button in the Control Center to create new reminders quickly. An overlay appears on top of the Control Center, where you can fill in the details, select the desired list, time, location, and flag.

As visible in the third screenshot, you can long-press the Reminders button in Control Center to pick a list. You can also create new reminders quickly by pressing the Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and later models.

3. Automatically categorize reminders

The Reminders app now uses Apple Intelligence to automatically categorize reminders into different sections within a list. Your list will look tidier as the reminders get grouped into related topics.

You can tap on the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner, then select "Auto-Categorize" from the drop-down menu. If you want, you can follow the same steps to disable the feature and remove the categories.

If your iPhone doesn't support Apple Intelligence, you can still categorize reminders into sections by tapping the three-dot menu button, then choosing "New Section."

4. Automatically suggested reminders

The Reminders app can review emails, messages, notes, or other text to extract relevant tasks, grocery items, or ingredients from a recipe. You can also share Safari webpages or News+ stories with the Reminders app to get suggestions based on the context.

The feature utilizes Apple Intelligence and displays such reminders in the 'Siri Suggestions' section of the app, from which you can add them to your lists.

5. Visual improvements with Liquid Glass

If you have muscle memory from last year, you'll notice that Apple has done some reordering inside the Reminders app. The option to create a new list is now located at the top of the screen; its previous position has been taken by the "New Reminder" option, now represented as a "+" icon.

The updated Reminders app features curvy UI elements and colors for the different categories present on its main screen. Apple has also shrunk the search bar into a lens icon and placed it alongside the create list option at the top.

It's different from other apps, where the search bar is now present at the bottom of the screen. The repositioning of the search bar in Reminders is also the reason you'll notice more empty space at the bottom of the screen, as all the UI elements have been moved up slightly.

These are some of the new features and changes available in the Reminders app. On a broader note, the iOS 26 update introduces a fresh wave of visual changes, including Liquid Glass and interactive translucent elements.

Apple has topped it off by making the app more colorful and adding several Apple Intelligence features. While a new user will barely notice the re-arranged controls, it might result in a steeper learning curve for existing users.

This article is part of our series exploring the new features and changes on iOS 26, including the Phone app, new Adaptive features, and the ability to take HDR screenshots and add a 3D effect to your photos.

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Posted Wednesday 1 October 2025 at 6:32 am AEST (my time).

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Posted Tuesday 30 September 2025 at 1:27 pm AEST (my time).

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For the uninitiated, Live Photos is a feature on iOS that records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take a picture. You can edit a Live Photo, pick a different frame, or add a fun effect. Google added a feature called Motion Photos on Android, which works in a similar way.

You can share Live Photos in their original format, preserving their motion and audio, across different platforms. This update leaves behind the days when Live Photos were sent as static images or low-quality GIFs on WhatsApp, even without their sound.

We have reported that WhatsApp has been testing support for these dynamic images on both Android and iOS devices over the past few months. When you share a Live Photo through WhatsApp, a Live Photo icon will appear in the image viewer, which you can tap to enable or disable the live effect. A Live Photo shared from an iPhone will be received as a Motion Photo on Android.

Apart from that, WhatsApp is also rolling out a new feature that lets you create backgrounds for WhatsApp video calls using Meta AI. You can put yourself in your favorite surroundings or add AI backgrounds when taking photos and videos directly in chats.

These new AI filters are built on top of the existing filters WhatsApp already offers for video calls. It was spotted testing filters and AR effects for video calls last year and later introduced sets of 10 filters and 10 backgrounds, alongside 'Touch up' and 'Low Light' options for video calls.

Speaking of AI features, WhatsApp recently rolled out support for Message Translations in its Android and iOS apps. WhatsApp also updated the calling experience for group chats by merging the video and audio calling buttons into a single menu.

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Posted Tuesday 30 September 2025 at 1:21 pm AEST (my time).

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SamMobile reports that Samsung customers have taken to social media to claim that OneUI 8.0 has been pulled for their Galaxy Z Fold SE. For those unaware, the "SE" in the model name stands for "Special Edition", which was made available in select markets, such as South Korea, late last year.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE was meant as an improvement to the Z Fold6 with a thinner and lighter form factor accompanying a larger screen. It also featured major improvements to the camera system, where the main camera was bumped from 50MP to 200MP, and Wi-Fi 7, but it did drop support for the S Pen in the process. This was likely due to a different display configuration that allowed a thinner handset at the cost of a digitizer display layer.

Although OneUI 8.0 seemingly does not have major reported bugs, some users in South Korea had been complaining about the touch screen intermittently becoming unresponsive after unlocking the phone. Since this causes a major break in workflows, it's likely that Samsung decided to pull the plug on the OTA rollout to iron out this issue.

Given that the Z Fold SE was made available in limited quantities, the bug in question probably does not affect a significant portion of Samsung's user base. While there isn't an indication yet about when the problem will be patched, the company is expected to resume rollout as soon as that happens. For the time being, it's probably better for customers already affected by the bug to wait for a fix rather than manually downgrading their phone, which can be a major nuisance too.

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Posted Tuesday 30 September 2025 at 1:19 pm AEST (my time).

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The latest iOS 26 update is now available on supported iPhones. You'll notice many different things after getting iOS 26 on your device, and one of them is the collection of "Adaptive" features. Yes, there are several new features that include "Adaptive" in their name, suggesting a shift in Apple's strategy when it comes to designing features.

Let's talk about some new Adaptive features you can find on iOS 26:

Adaptive Power

As the name suggests, the Adaptive Power mode is designed to save your phone's battery life on those demanding days. It uses on-device machine learning to predict when you might need extra backup before plugging your phone into a charger.

Adaptive Power is compatible with several iPhone models, including the recently launched $2,000 iPhone 17 Pro Max and the "hard-to-bend" iPhone Air. You can read more about the power-saving feature in our detailed post.

Adaptive Time

The clock on the Lock Screen dynamically adapts to the available space in the image. When you swipe on your screen, the Adaptive Time slides behind the subject to give it more room and add depth to the Lock Screen wallpaper.

"To maintain the focus on the subject of photo wallpapers on the Lock Screen, the time is now crafted out of Liquid Glass and fluidly adapts to fit elegantly behind the subject," Apple said. Adaptive Time pairs well with the new Spatial Scenes feature, which converts 2D iPhone images into their 3D counterparts.

Adaptive Toolbar

A small but useful addition in the Notes app is the new Adaptive Toolbar. Apple has moved on from the static toolbar on iOS 18 by adding a touch of Liquid Glass on a translucent pill-shaped UI you can slide to reveal more controls.

Like other adaptive features, the new toolbar analyzes what you're doing in your note and shows different options that might be useful. You can see in the above image how the options in the toolbar change when the text is selected in a note or a table is inserted.

Adaptive Temperature

If you have paired your thermostat with the Apple Home app, a new feature called Adaptive Temperature can optimize your energy usage. Again, it relies on Apple's on-device intelligence to predict when you're on your way home or out for an extended period.

Adaptive Temperature brings your thermostat to the correct temperature by the time you return, potentially saving energy in the process. It also works with your iPhone's sleep schedule to adjust the temperature accordingly when you go to bed and wake up in the morning.

The feature works when you have a home hub, such as HomePod or Apple TV, with a compatible Matter thermostat. You must update to the latest version of Apple Home and turn on location services.

Smartphones have been around for a couple of decades now, and for the most part, we have been accustomed to using features that are either on or off. However, with the advent of AI and on-device intelligence, tech companies now have the flexibility to design features that can adapt to user behavior and their specific device.

Apple's latest set of Adaptive features is an example of it, which builds on the features added in the past. For instance, iOS 17's Adaptive Audio feature on AirPods Pro 2 (and later) combines Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency mode to control the level of noise you hear.

While the company didn't include 'Adaptive' in their name, there are several iOS 18 features that work according to user behavior and needs, such as prioritizing notifications and messages, and filtering important notifications when Focus is enabled.

This article is part of our series exploring new features and changes across iOS 26. You can read our detailed roundups to know about the freshly baked features of the Phone app and the Camera app, or find out how you can take HDR screenshots on iOS 26.

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Posted Monday 29 September 2025 at 4:05 am AEST (my time).

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While iOS users can only use it to translate manually after tapping 'Translate,' Android users will also be able to enable automatic translation, allowing all messages in a chat thread to be translated without having to tap each one individually.

"We're rolling out message translations to Android and iPhone users gradually from today, in a few select languages to start with more to follow," the company said on Tuesday.

"If you see a message in a different language, you can now simply long-press and tap 'Translate'. Choose the language you want the message to be translated from or to, and download it to be saved for future translations."

The new feature supports over 19 languages on iOS devices, while Android users will be able to translate text in English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic.

WhatsApp added that the feature is also designed to protect the users' privacy, as it will translate all content on the device without sending it to the company's servers.

"Message translations were designed to protect the privacy of your chats. That's why translations occur on your device where WhatsApp cannot see them," it added.

In April, WhatsApp introduced a new Advanced Chat Privacy feature that protects sensitive information exchanged in group conversations and private chats.

Last month, the messaging service also unveiled a new security feature that helps users spot potential scams when they are added to a new group chat by someone not in their contact list.

Meta says that more than three billion people from over 180 countries are using WhatsApp's instant messaging and video calling platform.

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Posted Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 5:09 am AEST (my time).

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Tap to Pay on iPhone enables merchants to turn their iPhone into a portable payment terminal, allowing them to accept in-person contactless payments from customers. The service works with Apple Pay, contactless credit cards, debit cards, and other mobile wallets.

Just like a regular payment terminal, customers can hold their contactless card, iPhone, or Apple Watch close to the merchant's iPhone to make payments. Tap to Pay on iPhone utilizes NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to do its job and doesn't require additional hardware.

Apple says that transactions made through Tap to Pay on iPhone are processed using the Secure Elements chip. Such transactions are encrypted, and the company claims it "doesn’t know what is being purchased or who is buying it."

Note that Tap to Pay on iPhone is different from Apple Pay. It's a contactless payment technology; meanwhile, Apple Pay is more like a digital wallet that stores your credit and debit card information. It's one of the ways merchants can accept payments using Tap to Pay on iPhone, but Apple Pay can also work other other contactless payment options.

The service works with iPhone Xs (or later models) through a supporting iOS app. Apple partners with payment platforms that integrate Tap to Pay on iPhone into their respective apps. Here are the platforms Apple supports in the newly added countries:

• Estonia: SumUp, Revolut
• Lativia: SumUp
• Lithuania: SumUp, Revolut
• Monaco: BNP Paribas, Adyen
• Norway Adyen, PayPal, Stripe, Nexi, SumUp, Surfboard Payments, and Viva.com

Apple's Tap to Pay on iPhone was introduced in the US in 2022, followed by other countries, including the UK and Brazil. The total number of countries and regions where it's available is now 43. Speaking of which, this is Apple's second big expansion in Europe this year. Tap to Pay on iPhone was launched in eight European countries earlier in May.

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Posted Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 5:08 am AEST (my time).

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Android Authority did a teardown of the recent Gallery app update in OneUI 8.5, discovering that Samsung might soon prompt users to leave OneDrive and opt for the company's own cloud. Partnerships similar to that of Samsung and Microsoft never have any guarantees, and the discovered bits prove that a "native" option is usually a safer and more convenient way to go. For example, for iPhone users, backing up photos in iCloud is the easiest option (even though you only get 5GB for free), and Samsung now wants to do the same.

Here are the discovered lines:

• Keep your pictures and videos safe and synced with all your devices.
• Samsung Cloud now lets you back up photos and videos and sync them across your devices. With this change, support for OneDrive will end
• Gallery will no longer support syncing with OneDrive.
• Back up your Gallery to Samsung Cloud to keep your photos and videos safe and synced with all your devices.
• A new way to protect your memories
• Sync with OneDrive ending soon
• Keep your memories safe and synced

Samsung partnered with Microsoft on using OneDrive as a native photo backup option about six years ago. As a result of that partnership, OneDrive sync was integrated into OneUI, allowing users to back up photos without downloading and installing the OneDrive app (which was pre-installed nonetheless). While removing the native integration will be inconvenient for users, you can continue backing up your photos using the OneDrive app from the Google Play Store.

Source: Android Authority

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Posted Wednesday 24 September 2025 at 5:06 am AEST (my time).

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While it seems like a foregone conclusion that there will be a foldable iPhone, possibly late next year, there hasn’t been much info about what it would look like. In the latest installment of his Power On newsletter Mark Gurman says he’s being told it will look more or less like two iPhone Airs stuck together.

That means it should be pretty thin, though potentially thicker than a Pixel 10 Pro Fold (10.8mm) and Galaxy Z Fold7 (8.9mm) since an iPhone Air comes in at 5.6mm thick. Though Ming-Chi Kuo’s sources suggest the foldable will be quite a bit thinner when unfolded, possibly as little as 4.5mm. Unfortunately, Gurman also expects the foldable iPhone to cost more than the Pixel Fold, starting at at least $2,000, possibly more.

One benefit of basing the foldable on the iPhone Air’s design is durability. While foldables have improved a lot over the years, there are still concerns about how they can stand up to abuse. But Gurman says the iPhone fold will be made of titanium, just like the Air, which both JerryRigsEverything and iFixIt have found to be pretty tough.

iFixIt also gave the iPhone Air a surprisingly decent repairability score of seven. If an iPhone fold could even get close to the same repairability score it would be a pretty big deal. Both the Pixel Fold and Z Fold7 earned repairability scores of three, meaning these phones that are far more fragile than your standard glass rectangle are also much harder to repair.

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Posted Monday 22 September 2025 at 4:53 pm AEST (my time).

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If you haven't been running the beta releases already and own a supported iPhone model, you can get your hands on the new features and changes that have arrived with iOS 26. The update comes with a ton of new features in the Photos app, Safari browser, and other system apps. You can also take HDR-supported screenshots on your iPhone.

This article is part of our series exploring the new features and changes in iOS 26. So, let's talk about some new changes you'll notice immediately after installing the iOS 26 update.

Note: This list is not exhaustive of all the features and changes.

1. 3D spatial wallpapers, dynamic clock

You'll start noticing the changes right on the lock screen. The newly updated dynamic clock on iOS 26 slides behind the subject when you swipe down on the screen to hide the notifications. Thanks to the Spatial Scenes feature in the Photos app, you'll notice some parallax effect in the 3D wallpaper on the lock screen when you tilt your phone in different directions.

2. It could have been iOS 19

Apple skipping version numbers for iOS is something you wouldn't expect. But the company did it in 2025, and not just for iPhone, Apple renamed all of its operating systems to a single version number. So, now we have iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, and visionOS 26.

This change in the naming scheme aligns with the new Liquid Glass design language across Apple's ecosystem. It also creates consistency as previous Apple-made operating systems carried different version numbers, such as iOS 18, macOS 15, tvOS 13, and watchOS 11.

Calling it version 26 indicates the year when the update is most active. Typically, Apple's OS updates are released in the fourth quarter, which means that the majority of their lifecycle and incremental updates happen in the following year. That's why it makes more sense to call it iOS 26 instead of iOS 25.

3. Liquid Glass

While Apple is lagging behind on the AI front, it's trying to make up for it with other features. Liquid Glass is one such thing, which is in fact the biggest visual update the Cupertino giant has pushed in years, across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

Apple describes Liquid Glass as "a new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, bringing greater focus to content, and delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more."

Liquid Glass is based on visionOS and succeeds Apple's existing design languages, such as Aqua on macOS and the minimalist flat design on iOS/iPadOS. It mimics how a glass would behave in the real world when placed on top of different materials, and borrows colors from its surrounding content.

You can find Liquid Glass in action right away on the Control Center, Home Screen, and Lock Screen, where you can see how the glassy UI elements change the appearance when you swipe in different directions or interact with the tab bars, side bars, buttons, switches, sliders, text, and media controls.

However, not everything is perfect in its first rollout, and Apple faced criticism when it pushed the first draft of Liquid Glass to iOS beta versions. Users complained about imperfect color contrast and high transparency, which made the content difficult to see.

Apple has since made changes to the Liquid Glass in places like Control Center, where it reduced transparency to make the icons more visible.

4. Streamlined search experience

The search bar on older versions of iOS was hidden somewhere at the top of the screen. You had to swipe down on the screen to reveal the search bar in apps like Phone and Settings. With iOS 26, Apple has streamlined the search experience by moving the search bar to the bottom of the display, making it easier to use an iPhone with one hand.

You can find the updated search feature on most system apps, either as a wide pill or a lens icon, depending on the app. However, it's still a work in progress, as Apple has yet to update the Files app with the new interface.

5. Mind the curves

Apple has continued the trend of adding curves to everything. It started with the iPhone X in 2017, when Apple ditched the rectangular screen for one with rounded corners. iOS 26 has an abundance of UI elements and borders that are curvier than before.

The Settings app is one place where you'll notice this change quickly when comparing it with iOS 18, and so is the case with the buttons in the Control Center. You can also see it across controls, toolbars, and navigation buttons within apps that have the Liquid Glass treatment.

6. Updated app icons

With Liquid Glass comes a fresh coat of paint to the app icons on iOS 26 and its siblings. You can find new icons for apps like Camera, Safari, App Store, Reminders, Notes, and others. In addition to that, Apple has also redesigned the icons for the features and options available in the Settings app.

However, another round of criticism has arrived as some users who downloaded the stable version are reporting that Liquid Glass icons look tilted and asymmetrical when used in dark mode.

7. No navigation pill at the bottom

Apple introduced gesture navigation for iPhone almost eight years ago. It seems that the company feels that users are now familiar with navigation controls. After installing iOS 26, you won't find the thin off-white navigation pill or Home Bar (informally) anymore, except on the Lock Screen. It does briefly appear for a couple of seconds when you open any app on the device.

8. The Preview app

iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 have introduced the Preview app, building on the legacy of its macOS counterpart that has existed for years.

Preview app on iOS 26 makes it easier to work with images and PDFs with built-in tools for creating, editing, annotating, and exporting PDF documents. You can find quick access buttons at the top of the screen to create a new PDF or scan a document.

While the Files app can also scan documents, the Preview app is specifically meant to do the job. The app also lets you combine multiple PDFs into a single file and works with the AutoFill feature to add details to forms.

9. The Apple Games app

Apple has baked the new Games app for iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, which essentially gives a new face to the good old Game Center buried in the Settings. It finds all the games installed on your devices and puts them in the Library tab for quick access.

Of course, the Games app integrates with the iPhone-maker's game subscription service, Apple Arcade, which appears as a separate tab. It also supports several Game Center features like leaderboards, multiplayer, and achievements.

These are some of the new features and changes you might notice immediately after installing the iOS 26 update on your device. It's evident that iOS 26 has improved in several areas over its predecessors, like the search experience, which is now streamlined across apps and a better fit for one-handed usage.

Moreover, the Liquid Glass design language is consistent not just across iOS apps, but also across Apple's ecosystem. You'll find the same icons and visual upgrades on your iPad and Mac, marking the start of a new experience for the years to come.

What do you think about Liquid Glass and iOS 26? Tell us in the comments.

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Posted Sunday 21 September 2025 at 3:15 am AEST (my time).

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Following the announcement that it is bringing Gemini to its Google Home smart home platform, it appears the company is updating its Google Home app to incorporate the new features. Android Authority dove into code for the upcoming v3.41.50.3 version of the app and found “a significant redesign.”

While the overall UI doesn’t look like it’s changed dramatically, some usability tweaks streamline the app while putting Gemini front and center.

According to screenshots published by Android Authority and detailed in a YouTube video, you can now “Ask Home” to control your devices by typing or saying what you want to happen or to search your video and home history to get detailed descriptions of what has already happened. This is all accessible through a new Ask Home search bar at the top of the app, which, according to AA, opens a new “Ask Home” conversation screen.

Google had already announced that Gemini for Home is coming to Google’s smart speakers and displays, allowing you to use natural language to control smart home devices with your voice, so it’s logical that this function will also be part of the Home app.

Other updates AA spotted included that the Favorites tab has been renamed to Home, and the Devices and Settings tab has gone from the bottom bar, leaving only three icons . (Devices will now be accessible via a grid icon in the Home tab.)

It looks like you will also be able to add outdoor air quality and temperature as a favorite tile, and there are new icons for video and a thermometer on the Home page. The latter may hint at upcoming Nest hardware, which is slated to launch next month.

I hope this big app refresh will also bring the many features Google has been trialing in its Public Preview program to all users.

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Posted Saturday 20 September 2025 at 3:03 am AEST (my time).

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Adaptive Power relies on Apple's on-device machine learning prowess to analyze your battery usage patterns and charging habits, predicting when you might need some extra backup until your next trip to a charging point.

It works behind the scenes to make performance adjustments, limit background activity, lower screen brightness by 3%, and turn on Low Power Mode when your battery percentage reaches 20%.

The feature is supported on the following iPhone models:

• Enabled by default: iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Disabled by default: iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max

You can manage Adaptive Power by going to Settings > Battery > Power Mode. Here, you can turn on the optional notifications for Adaptive Power to know when it kicks in during the day. The feature will work in the background even if you disable the notifications.

Note that the feature doesn't manage performance when your iPhone needs all of its muscle power, such as when using the Camera app or playing games with Game Mode enabled.

Moreover, Adaptive Power needs at least seven days to analyze your charging habits before it starts doing its job. Speaking of which, the iPhone 17 series devices can now charge from zero to 50% battery capacity in 20 minutes using Apple's new 40W charging adapter.

The iOS 26 update is now available to download on supported iPhone models. If you haven't installed it yet, consider checking out the list of 10 things you should do before installing iOS 26. Apple recently admitted that installing iOS 26, or any major update, may worsen your iPhone's battery life initially. So, if you want, you can wait for a few days before updating your device.

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Posted Thursday 18 September 2025 at 5:13 pm AEST (my time).

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At multiple points over many years, Apple executives have taken great pains to point out that they think touchscreen Macs are a silly idea. But it remains one of those persistent Mac rumors that crops up over and over again every couple of years, from sources that are reliable enough that they shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

Today’s contribution comes from supply chain analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who usually has some insight into what Apple is testing and manufacturing. Kuo says that touchscreen MacBook Pros are “expected to enter mass production by late 2026,” and that the devices will also shift to using OLED display panels instead of the Mini LED panels on current-generation MacBook Pros.

Kuo says that Apple’s interest in touchscreen Macs comes from “long-term observation of iPad user behavior.” Apple’s tablet hardware launches in the last few years have also included keyboard and touchpad accessories, and this year’s iPadOS 26 update in particular has helped to blur the line between the touch-first iPad and the keyboard-and-pointer-first Mac. In other words, Apple has already acknowledged that both kinds of input can be useful when combined in the same device; taking that same jump on the Mac feels like a natural continuation of work Apple is already doing.

Touchscreens became much more common on Windows PCs starting in 2012 when Windows 8 was released, itself a response to Apple’s introduction of the iPad a couple of years before. Microsoft backed off on almost all of Windows 8’s design decisions in the following years after the dramatic UI shift proved unpopular with traditional mouse-and-keyboard users, but touchscreen PCs like Microsoft’s Surface lineup have persisted even as the software has changed.

The last major contribution to The Great Touchscreen Mac Rumor Cycle came from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in early 2023. Gurman claimed that Apple was “actively engaged” in designing and testing touchscreen Macs, but that we probably wouldn’t see the fruits of that labor until 2025 at the earliest. Apple still has a little bit of 2025 left to go, but it does seem as though the company is going to miss that time window.

Kuo’s post also makes reference to another perennial Mac rumor: the existence of a low-cost MacBook model that slides in well underneath the $999 baseline that Apple’s entry-level laptops have stuck to for a couple of decades now. Kuo claims this Mac is entering production in the fourth quarter of 2025, suggesting that we could see it in the next few months.

This low-cost MacBook is said to use an A-series iPhone processor to cut costs, and it seems likely that it would be a replacement of sorts for the old M1 MacBook Air that Apple still sells through Walmart for $650 (currently $600). If Apple introduced a low-cost MacBook, one big question would be whether it would remain retailer-exclusive, or if Apple would sell it in its own stores like it has done with its low-cost iPhone and iPad models.

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Posted Thursday 18 September 2025 at 4:32 am AEST (my time).

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iOS 26 became publicly available this week, ushering in a new OS naming system and the software’s most overhauled look since 2013. It may take time to get used to the new "Liquid Glass" look, but it’s easier to appreciate the pared-down controls.

Beyond a glassy, bubbly new design, the update’s flashiest new features also include new Apple Intelligence AI integration that varies in usefulness, from fluffy new Genmoji abilities to a nifty live translation feature for Phones, Messages, and FaceTime.

New tech is often bogged down with AI-based features that prove to be overhyped, unreliable, or just not that useful. iOS 26 brings a little of each, so in this review, we’ll home in on the iOS updates that will benefit both mainstream and power users the most.

Let’s start with Liquid Glass

If we’re talking about changes that you’re going to use a lot, we should start with the new Liquid Glass software design that Apple is applying across all of its operating systems. iOS hasn’t had this much of a makeover since iOS 7. However, where iOS 7 applied a flatter, minimalist effect to windows and icons and their edges, iOS 26 adds a (sometimes frosted) glassy look and a mildly fluid movement to actions such as pulling down menus or long-pressing controls. All the while, windows look like they’re reflecting the content underneath them. When you pull Safari's menu atop a webpage, for example, blurred colors from the webpage's images and text are visible on empty parts of the menu.

When you swipe down to open the Control Center, its icons appear to stretch downward as you slide your finger.

 

Translucent controls are seen here in one of the Pets collections in my Photos app.

Scharon Harding

 

Liquid Glass is now part of most of Apple’s consumer devices, including Macs and Apple TVs, but the dynamic visuals and motion are especially pronounced as you use your fingers to poke, slide, and swipe across your iPhone’s screen.

For instance, when you use a tinted color theme or the new clear theme for Home Screen icons, colors from the Home Screen's background look like they’re refracting from under the translucent icons. It's especially noticeable when you slide to different Home Screen pages. And in Safari, the address bar shrinks down and becomes more translucent as you scroll to read an article.

Because the theme is incorporated throughout the entire OS, the Liquid Glass effect can be cheesy at times. It feels forced in areas such as Settings, where text that just scrolled past looks slightly blurred at the top of the screen.

Liquid Glass makes the top of the Settings menu look blurred.

Credit: Scharon Harding

Other times, the effect feels fitting, like when pulling the Control Center down and its icons appear to stretch down to the bottom of the screen and then quickly bounce into their standard size as you release your finger. Another place Liquid Glass flows nicely is in Photos. As you browse your pictures, colors subtly pop through the translucent controls at the bottom of the screen.

This is a matter of appearance, so you may have your own take on whether Liquid Glass looks tasteful or not. But overall, it's the type of redesign that’s distinct enough to be a fun change, yet mild enough that you can grow accustomed to it if you’re not immediately impressed.

Liquid Glass simplifies navigation (mostly)

There's more to Liquid Glass than translucency. Part of the redesign is simplifying navigation in some apps by displaying fewer controls.

Opening Photos is now cleaner at launch, bringing you to all of your photos instead of the Collections section, like iOS 18 does. At the bottom are translucent tabs for Library and Collections, plus a Search icon. Once you start browsing, the Library and Collections tabs condense into a single icon, and Years, Months, and All tabs appear, maintaining a translucence that helps keep your focus on your pictures.

You can still bring up more advanced options (such as Flash, Live, Timer) with one tap. And at the top of the camera’s field of view are smaller toggles for night mode and flash. But for when you want to take a quick photo, iOS 26 makes it easier to focus on the necessities while keeping the extraneous within short reach.

Similarly, the initial controls displayed at the bottom of the screen when you open Camera are pared down from six different photo- and video-shooting modes to the two that really matter: Photo and Video.

iOS 26 takes the same approach with Video mode by focusing on the essentials (zoom, resolution, frame rate, and flash) at launch.New layout options for navigating Safari, however, slowed me down. In a new Compact view, the address bar lives at the bottom of the screen without a dedicated toolbar, giving the web page more screen space. But this setup makes accessing common tasks, like opening a new or old tab, viewing bookmarks, or sharing a link, tedious because they’re hidden behind a menu button.

The toolbar is hidden in Safari's Compact layout.

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Opening the menu next to address bar brings up toolbar functions.

Scharon Harding

 

If you tend to have multiple browser tabs open, you’ll want to stick with the classic layout, now called Top (where the address bar is at the top of the screen and the toolbar is at the bottom) or the Bottom layout (where the address bar and toolbar are at the bottom of the screen).

On the more practical side of Safari updates is a new ability to turn any webpage into a web app, making favorite and important URLs accessible quickly and via a dedicated Home Screen icon. This has been an iOS feature for a long time, but until now the pages always opened in Safari. Users can still do this if they like, but by default these sites now open as their own distinct apps, with dedicated icons in the app switcher. Web apps open full-screen, but in my experience, back and forward buttons only come up if you go to a new website. Sliding left and right replaces dedicated back and forward controls, but sliding isn't as reliable as just tapping a button.

Viewing Ars Technica as a web app.

Credit: Scharon Harding

iOS 26 remembers that iPhones are telephones

With so much focus on smartphone chips, screens, software, and AI lately, it can be easy to forget that these devices are telephones. iOS 26 doesn’t overlook the core purpose of iPhones, though. Instead, the new operating system adds a lot to the process of making and receiving phone calls, video calls, and text messages, starting with the look of the Phone app.

Continuing the streamlined Liquid Glass redesign, the Phone app on iOS 26 consolidates the bottom controls from Favorites, Recents, Contacts, Keypad, and Voicemail, to Calls (where voicemails also live), Contacts, and Keypad, plus Search.

I’d rather have a Voicemails section at the bottom of the screen than Search, though. The Voicemails section is still accessible by opening a menu at the top-right of the screen, but it's less prominent, and getting to it requires more screen taps than before.

On Phone's opening screen, you'll see the names or numbers of missed calls and voicemails in red. But voicemails also have a blue dot next to the red phone number or name (along with text summarizing or transcribing the voicemail underneath if those settings are active). This setup caused me to overlook missed calls initially. Missed calls with voicemails looked more urgent because of the blue dot. For me, at first glance, it appeared as if the blue dots represented unviewed missed calls and that red numbers/names without a blue dot were missed calls that I had already viewed. It’s taking me time to adjust, but there’s logic behind having all missed phone activity in one place.

For someone like me, whose phone number seems to have made it to every marketer and scammers’ contact lists, it’s empowering to have iOS 26’s screening features help reduce time spent dealing with spam.

The phone can be set to automatically ask callers with unsaved numbers to state their name. As this happens, iOS displays the caller’s response on-screen, so you can decide if you want to answer or not. If you’re not around when the phone rings, you can view the transcript later and then mark the caller as known, if desired. This has been my preferred method of screening calls and reduces the likelihood of missing a call I want to answer.

There are also options for silencing calls and voicemails from unknown numbers and having them only show in a section of the app that's separate from the Calls tab (and accessible via the aforementioned Phone menu).

A new Phone menu helps sort important calls from calls that are likely spam.

Credit: Scharon Harding

You could also have iOS direct calls that your cell phone carrier identifies as spam to voicemail and only show the missed calls in the Phone menu's dedicated Spam list. I found that, while the spam blocker is fairly reliable, silencing calls from unsaved numbers resulted in me missing unexpected calls from, say, an interview source or my bank. And looking through my spam and unknown callers lists sounds like extra work that I'm unlikely to do regularly.

Messages

iOS 26 applies the same approach to Messages. You can now have texts from unknown senders and spam messages automatically placed into folders that are separate from your other texts. It's helpful for avoiding junk messages, but it can be confusing if you're waiting for something like a two-factor authentication text, for example.

Elsewhere in Messages is a small but effective change to browsing photos, links, and documents previously exchanged via text. Upon tapping the name of a person in a conversation in Messages, you’ll now see tabs for viewing that conversation’s settings (such as the recipient’s number and a toggle for sending read receipts), as well as separate tabs for photos and links. Previously, this was all under one tab, so if you wanted to find a previously sent link, you had to scroll through the conversation’s settings and photos. Now, you can get to links with a couple of quick taps. Additionally, with iOS 26 you can finally set up custom iMessage backgrounds, including premade ones and ones that you can make from your own photos or by using generative AI. It’s not an essential update but is an easy way to personalize your iPhone by brightening up texts.

Hold Assist

Another time saver is Hold Assist. It makes calling customer service slightly more tolerable by allowing you to hang up during long wait times and have your iPhone ring when someone’s ready to talk to you. It’s a feature that some customer service departments have offered for years already, but it’s handy to always have it available.

You have to be quick to respond, though. One time I answered the phone after using Hold Assist, and the caller informed me that they had said "hello" a few times already. This is despite the fact that iOS is supposed to let the agent know that you’ll be on the phone shortly. If I had waited a couple more seconds to pick up the phone, it's likely that the customer service rep would have hung up.

One of the most novel features that iOS 26 brings to iPhone communication is real-time translations for Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. After downloading the necessary language libraries, iOS can translate one of those languages to another in real time when you're talking on the phone or FaceTime or texting.

The feature worked best in texts, where the software doesn't have to deal with varying accents, people speaking fast or over one another, stuttering, or background noise. Translated texts and phone calls always show the original text written in the sender's native language, so you can double-check translations or see things that translations can miss, like acronyms, abbreviations, and slang.

Translating some basic Spanish.

Credit: Scharon Harding

During calls or FaceTime, Live Translation sometimes struggled to keep up while it tried to manage the nuances and varying speeds of how different people speak, as well as laughs and other interjections.

However, it's still remarkable that the iPhone can help remove language barriers without any additional hardware, apps, or fees. It will be even better if Apple can improve reliability and add more languages.

Spatial images on the Home and Lock Screen

The new spatial images feature is definitely on the fluffier side of this iOS update, but it is also a practical way to spice up your Lock Screen, Home Screen, and the Home Screen's Photos widget.

Basically, it applies a 3D effect to any photo in your library, which is visible as you move your phone around in your hand. Apple says that to do this, iOS 26 uses the same generative AI models that the Apple Vision Pro uses and creates a per-pixel depth map that makes parts of the image appear to pop out as you move the phone within six degrees of freedom.

The 3D effect is more powerful on some images than others, depending on the picture’s composition. It worked well on a photo of my dog sitting in front of some plants and behind a leaf of another plant. I set the display time so that it appears tucked behind her fur, and when I move the phone around, the dog and the leaf in front of her appear to move around, while the background plants stay still.

But in images with few items and sparser backgrounds, the spatial effect looks unnatural. And oftentimes, the spatial effect can be quite subtle.

Still, for those who like personalizing their iPhone with Home and Lock Screen customization, spatial scenes are a simple and harmless way to liven things up. And, if you like the effect enough, a new spatial mode in the Camera app allows you to create new spatial photos.

A note on Apple Intelligence notification summaries

As we’ve already covered in our macOS 26 Tahoe review, Apple Intelligence-based notification summaries haven’t improved much since their 2024 debut in iOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia. After problems with showing inaccurate summaries of news notifications, Apple updated the feature to warn users that the summaries may be inaccurate. But it’s still hit or miss when it comes to how easy it is to decipher the summaries.

I did have occasional success with notification summaries in iOS 26. For instance, I understood a summary of a voicemail that said, “Payment may have appeared twice; refunds have been processed.” Because I had already received a similar message via email (a store had accidentally charged me twice for a purchase and then refunded me), I knew I didn’t need to open that voicemail.

Vague summaries sometimes tipped me off as to whether a notification was important. A summary reading “Townhall meeting was hosted; call [real phone number] to discuss issues” was enough for me to know that I had a voicemail about a meeting that I never expressed interest in. It wasn’t the most informative summary, but in this case, I didn’t need a lot of information.

However, most of the time, it was still easier to just open the notification than try to decipher what Apple Intelligence was trying to tell me. Summaries aren't really helpful and don't save time if you can't fully trust their accuracy or depth.

Playful, yet practical

With iOS 26, iPhones get a playful new design that's noticeable and effective but not so drastically different that it will offend or distract those who are happy with the way iOS 18 works. It's exciting to experience one of iOS's biggest redesigns, but what really stands out are the thoughtful tweaks that bring practical improvements to core features, like making and receiving phone calls and taking pictures.

Some additions and changes are superfluous, but the update generally succeeds at improving functionality without introducing jarring changes that isolate users or force them to relearn how to use their phone.

I can't guarantee that you'll like the Liquid Glass design, but other updates should make it simpler to do some of the most important tasks with iPhones, and it should be a welcome improvement for long-time users.

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Posted Thursday 18 September 2025 at 4:27 am AEST (my time).

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Apple published a new support document that explicitly warns users that installing iOS 26 or any other major update may worsen your iPhone's or iPad's battery life. The good news is that the hit will most likely be temporary, and it is something to expect.

A major iOS update involves a lot of background and foreground processes. Even after your iPhone is back on the home screen, iOS still does plenty of stuff behind the curtain. That includes data indexing, downloading additional assets, updating apps, etc. Thus, you will most likely experience more noticeable battery consumption and even higher device temperatures.

Additionally, Apple is not shy to admit that new features indeed sometimes consume more power. However, the company promises that the impact on performance and battery life should be small. Plus, it will depend on individual cases, with the exact experience varying from user to user.

Here is what Apple says in its official documentation:

Immediately after completing an update, particularly a major release, you might notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance. This is normal, as your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps.

 

New features are exciting and help you get even more out of your Apple product, though some may require additional resources from the device. Depending on individual usage, some users may notice a small impact on performance and/or battery life. Apple continually works to optimize these features in software updates to ensure great battery life and a smooth user experience.

If you are concerned about your iPhone's battery life, you can always choose to wait a bit. There is no shame in waiting for a few more servicing updates for iOS 26 that should refine the experience and battery life. Apple is not forcing its latest operating systems on users, and it lets everyone stay on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 for longer. Waiting for a couple of bug-fixing updates is a strategy that many users opt for, and one of the recommendations we mentioned in our recent "10 things to do before installing iOS 26 on your iPhone" article.

Do you plan to upgrade your Apple devices to one of the new "26" releases? If yes, do not rush to grab pitchforks, and let the system finish its background processes.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:39 pm AEST (my time).

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You might have already been running iOS 26 through developer and public beta releases that Apple has pushed over the past few months. You can download the iOS 26 update on your supported iPhone model, which includes the freshly baked iPhone Air and the $2,000 maxed-out iPhone 17 Pro Max. Before installing the update, it's essential to keep in mind several important things, such as backing up your device.

The latest update brings a truckload of new features and changes to iPhones this year. A major highlight is the Liquid Glass design language that Apple is rolling out across most of its operating systems.

You might have noticed that the Cupertino giant has also jumped all of its operating systems to version 26, and there are a couple of reasons behind it.

Apple describes Liquid Glass as "a new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, bringing greater focus to content, and delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more." Rumors of a Glass-like design started floating earlier this year, and Apple ended up suing the leaker, Jon Prosser.

Other than that, you can try out the redesigned Photos app with a two-tab interface, new features in Safari, take HDR screenshots, and new stock wallpapers, among various features and changes. The iOS 26 update brings new AirPods features, such as Live Translation and the ability to turn your AirPods into a wireless camera remote.

Apple has also pushed updates to the Mobile Device Management (MDM) framework on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26. Microsoft highlighted that the improved MDM Migration capability makes it easier to move devices between different MDM solutions like Microsoft Intune, without the need for factory resets or manual enrollment.

While Apple Intelligence powers new features like Live Translation, people are still waiting to try out an upgraded version of Siri that Apple promised them last year.

You can download and install iOS 26 on your device by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Here, you can choose whether to receive the update automatically or install it at your convenience after it's downloaded.

Tell us what you think about iOS 26?

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:35 pm AEST (my time).

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iPadOS 26 focuses on two key areas of the operating system: multitasking and design. Starting with multitasking, iPadOS now has a Mac-like windowing system, which allows you to have as many windows on the screen as you want. Additionally, iPadOS 26 lets you resize those windows to your heart's liking. Mac's "traffic light" buttons are also now available on iPad, offering familiar window controls, plus there is a menu bar borrowed straight from macOS.

And if you wonder why iPadOS 26 arrived after iPadOS 18, that is not because Apple does not know how to count past 18, but because it wanted to unify its operating systems under one version and tie it to the current year.

For those who prefer the old windowing system, Apple allows switching back to the traditional full-screen iPad experience in the Settings app.

iPad's operating system is now more capable when it comes to background tasks. Stuff like Final Cut export now properly runs in the background, meaning you can do something else while your videos export. The Files app now lets you have colorful folders with emoji, and you can pin folders to the dock. Finally, the Preview app made its way from Mac to iPadOS, offering users a built-in PDF reader and editor.

As for the design, iPadOS 26 now has the new Liquid Glass design language with transparent UI elements that reflect and refract light as you scroll. The lock screen lets you resize the clock to adapt to your wallpaper, and the home screen now has a new transparent icon style.

Here are some other improvements and new features that you will find in your iPad after upgrading to iPadOS 26:

• iMessage: Live Translations, chat backgrounds, spam filters, and polls in group chats.
• Phone App: iPad now has the Phone app with all the features from its iPhone counterpart.
• Games App: A dedicated hub for gaming-related things and a special Game Overlay flyout that allows adjusting system settings, chatting with friends, and inviting people to play without leaving your game.
• Journal App: Another app that made its way from iPhone to iPad.
• Notes: The app now lets you keep transcriptions of recorded conversations and export notes as Markdown files.
• Photos: The app received an updated layout with improved controls.

iPadOS 26 is available for the following iPads:

You can download and install iPadOS 26 by heading to Settings > General > Software Update.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:34 pm AEST (my time).

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According to the APK teardown of version 25.37.31 beta of Google Play Services from Android Authority, Google is working on "Authorized Apps", a new feature within Watch Unlock that adds a layer of functionality. When you get a notification on your watch, you will often see an "Open on phone" button.

With this new system, tapping that button will not just unlock your phone but also take you directly to a specific page or section within an app like WhatsApp or Google Messages. Authorized apps are permitted to unlock your phone directly from your watch to continue an activity. This list is initially preloaded, but you can manage allowed apps in Settings, and it can grow if you grant permission to a new app.

Android Authority claims this functionality could be limited to Google's own hardware ecosystem, meaning a Pixel Watch paired with a Pixel phone, specifically a Pixel 4a or newer. It is not clear if Google will decide to bring it to other watches running Wear OS, so we will have to wait and see what the company's plans are.

The Pixel Watch 4, Google's latest addition to the Pixel Watch series, was unveiled about a month ago, alongside the Google Pixel 10 series smartphones.

It keeps the signature circular shape and comes in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. The watch has an "Actua 360 display", a domed and physically curved screen that provides a larger viewing area.

It also introduces standalone emergency satellite communications on the LTE models. For the 41mm, the price is $349 for Wi-Fi and $449 for LTE, while the 45mm costs $399 for Wi-Fi and $499 for LTE.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:33 pm AEST (my time).

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Despite a big number jump from watchOS 11 all the way to watchOS 26 (Apple unified all of its operating systems under one number to match the current year), the update is not the biggest one the Apple Watch has seen. Key updates include the Liquid Glass redesign, sleep tracking improvements, workout improvements, changes to iMessage, and more.

The biggest health change in watchOS 26 is Sleep Score, a new metric that shows the quality of your sleep based on its duration, time, and interruptions. Workout improvements include a redesigned user interface and the new Workout Buddy, a digital coach that gives you insights into your workouts and motivates you throughout them.

As for Liquid Glass, buttons, surfaces, icons, and other elements now have transparency, light reflections, and different kinds of visual candy. Sadly, if you have been waiting for new watch faces, watchOS 26 will disappoint you: there are only two new watch faces for the regular Apple Watch models and two more for those owning one of the Apple Watch Ultra models.

Other improvements in watchOS 26 include updates for Smart Stack, which now offers actions that might be most useful for you right here and right now, suggested smart actions in iMessage, and the ability to dismiss notifications, silence calls, and do other actions with a flick of your wrist. Your Apple Watch can now automatically adapt notification volume to your surroundings, plus you can view and create new notes with the Notes app, which is now available on watchOS.

watchOS 26 is available on the following Apple Watch models:

If you want to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 26, you have to update your iPhone to iOS 26 first (now available for download). After that, head to the Watch app and tap General > Software Updates.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:32 pm AEST (my time).

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Apple's design strategy has changed since Jony Ive left the company in 2019. However, the iPhone 17 series represents the cornerstone of Apple's revamped hardware strategy, laying the foundation for a new generation of iPhones that are more durable and designed around customer needs.

As Mark Gurman explains in this week's Power On newsletter, Apple is "rethinking its hardware in a way that we haven't seen in years." Gurman says the first major change to come to iPhones is a focus on durability.

Whenever a new iPhone is released, many YouTubers put it to the test—bending it or checking its screen resistance. While most iPhones in recent years have managed to survive these torture tests, Apple aims to make its best-selling product even more durable this time.

According to Gurman, we can expect fewer screen cracks and other major damage on iPhones, thanks to the stronger glass on both the front and back.

Another major change for the Pro variants comes in the form of enhanced features, including battery upgrades and camera improvements—sweetening the deal for customers. This could represent one of the most significant design shifts in recent years, as Apple has traditionally aimed to make iPhones slimmer and lighter. At the same time, a larger battery could jeopardize those efforts.

Previous reports suggest that Apple is planning at least three years of major iPhone redesigns, with the iPhone 17 serving as the first step. We can expect Apple's first foldable iPhone in 2026, followed by a glass-centric model in 2027, coinciding with the iPhone's 20th anniversary.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 2:35 am AEST (my time).

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The update now only brings new features such as the upgraded Now Bar, Now Brief, Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP), Knox Matrix, Secure Wi-Fi, etc., but also bundles the September 1, 2025, security patch as well. Soon after delivering the update, Samsung has now shared the official timeline for the One UI 8 update.

The company has confirmed that several devices, from flagships to budget phones, will receive the update later this year. According to the official newsroom post, the One UI 8 update will be available for the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy S24 FE, and additional eligible models later this year.

The devices include:

• Galaxy S25 series
• Galaxy S24 series
• Galaxy S23 series
• Galaxy S22 series
• Galaxy Z Fold6
• Galaxy Z Flip6
• Galaxy Z Fold5
• Galaxy Z Flip5
• Galaxy Z Fold4
• Galaxy Z Flip4
• Galaxy S24 FE
• Galaxy S23 FE
• Galaxy S21 FE
• Galaxy Tab S10 series
• Galaxy Tab S10 FE
• Galaxy Tab S10 Lite
• Galaxy Tab S9 series
• Galaxy Tab S9 FE
• Galaxy Tab S8 series
• Galaxy A56 5G
• Galaxy A36 5G
• Galaxy A26 5G
• Galaxy A17 5G
• Galaxy A17
• Galaxy A07
• Galaxy A06 5G
• Galaxy A55 5G
• Galaxy A35 5G
• Galaxy A25 5G
• Galaxy A16 5G
• Galaxy A16
• Galaxy A15 5G
• Galaxy A06
• Galaxy A54 5G
• Galaxy A34 5G
• Galaxy A73 5G
• Galaxy A53 5G
• Galaxy A33 5G

Though the official post did not reveal the exact date or month for the rollout, a community post by a Samsung moderator cleared the air, as they shared the One UI 8 schedule:

• Devices receiving One UI 8 in October
  • Galaxy S24 series
  • Galaxy S24 FE
  • Galaxy S23 series
  • Galaxy S23 FE
  • Galaxy Tab S10 series
  • Galaxy Tab S10 FE series
  • Galaxy A36
  • Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6
  • Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
  • Galaxy S22 series
  • Galaxy Tab S9 series
  • Galaxy Tab S9 FE series
  • Galaxy Tab Active 5
  • Galaxy A35
  • Galaxy XCover 7 Pro
  • Galaxy A53
  • Galaxy A34
  • Galaxy A25
• Devices receiving One UI 8 in November
  • Galaxy Z Fold 5
  • Galaxy Z Flip 5
  • Galaxy Tab S8 series
  • Galaxy Z Fold 4
  • Galaxy Z Flip 4
  • Galaxy A15
  • Galaxy A16
  • Galaxy A24
  • Galaxy A33
  • Galaxy Tab Active 5 Pro
  • Galaxy Tab A9 series
  • Galaxy Tab A11

It is nice to see Samsung extending the One UI 8 update even to budget phones along with the premium models, and not keeping them waiting. Let us know in the comments below if your device has made it to the list or not.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 2:33 am AEST (my time).

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Interestingly, the last generation chipset was called the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Qualcomm's naming of its new processor, 8 Elite Gen 5, doesn't sound in sync. To clear the air, Qualcomm has published a dedicated post explaining why the company is going ahead with this naming scheme.

The new name suggests that Qualcomm has skipped multiple generations. To their defense, the company says that since this will be the fifth generation processor in Qualcomm Snapdragon's 8-series processors, they added the suffix "Gen 5." In Qualcomm's words;

It might look like we skipped generations, but the truth is simpler — and more powerful. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 marks the fifth generation of our premium 8-series platforms since we introduced our new single digit naming and visual identity. By aligning with Gen 5, we’re reinforcing its leadership position and simplifying how consumers understand our product roadmap.

So, based on the information, here are the names of the entire 8-series chipset:

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• Snapdragon 8 Elite
• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Leading Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has already announced that the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max will feature the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. Just like every year, Samsung will also use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor inside their next year's flagship, the Galaxy S26 series. There are also reports that Samsung could use the 2nm process-based Exynos 2600 inside the S26 series.

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Posted Monday 15 September 2025 at 4:35 pm AEST (my time).

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A team at Flinders University has come up with a new way to get gold out of both e-waste and mined rock without using toxic chemicals like cyanide or mercury. Their method, published in Nature Sustainability, could make gold recovery safer for people and the environment.

Gold is important in many areas, from jewellery and currency to electronics, chemical manufacturing and aerospace. But most of the gold supply still comes from mining processes that use cyanide salts or mercury metal. Large-scale mining often uses cyanide to dissolve gold from ore, which can harm wildlife and contaminate the environment. Small-scale and artisanal miners often use mercury, which forms an amalgam with gold before being heated to release the metal. This is the largest source of mercury pollution on Earth and is dangerous for both miners and surrounding ecosystems.

The new process starts with trichloroisocyanuric acid, a chemical already used in water treatment and pool cleaning. When activated with a halide catalyst in salt water, it dissolves gold from ore or e-waste. The gold is then captured using a polysulfide polymer sorbent made from elemental sulphur, a cheap and abundant byproduct of the petroleum industry. This polymer can pick out gold even when other metals are present.

Once the gold is bound to the polymer, it can be recovered in high purity by either heating the polymer (pyrolysis) or breaking it back down into its original monomer building block (depolymerization). The polymer can then be remade and reused. The team also developed ways to recycle the leaching chemical and the water used in the process.

Tests showed the method works on ore, old computer circuit boards and other gold-containing waste. “Our goal is to support these miners economically while offering safer alternatives to mercury,” the researchers said, adding that millions of artisanal miners depend on mercury-based methods.

While the results are promising, the researchers say there is still work to do. They need to scale up production of the polymer, fine-tune the recycling steps and make sure the process is cost-competitive with traditional methods. They also see potential for “urban mining” — recovering gold from e-waste — which could reduce the need for environmentally damaging primary mining.

As the study notes, “Overall, this work provides a viable approach to achieve greener gold production from both primary and secondary resources, improving the sustainability of the gold supply.”

Source: The Conversation, Nature

This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

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Posted Monday 15 September 2025 at 4:33 pm AEST (my time).

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Well, now you can get an idea of how big a whole it would burn in your pocket if you accidentally crack your iPhone Air's screen or need a battery replacement for your iPhone 17 Pro. Apple has updated the price estimation tool on its iPhone Repair and Service webpage to include different repair costs for the latest iPhone models.

Here's an overview of the different out-of-warranty repair costs for various iPhone models as seen on Apple's website:

Note: Apple might revise these costs at a later point in time.

For comparison, these are the respective costs for the iPhone 16 series:

Apple is still charging the same amount for out-of-warranty battery replacements, but wants extra dollars for service types such as 'Other damage.' You'll have to pay considerably less if you have purchased an AppleCare+ or AppleCare One with these devices.

For instance, Apple charges $0 service fee for battery replacement if its capacity drops below 80% while your AppleCare plan is still active. The company charges a per-incident service fee of $29 for screen or back glass damage, $99 for other accidental damage, and $149 for theft or loss.

While AppleCare+ applies to only one device, the recently launched AppleCare One gives you a single payment option to secure multiple devices, including new ones and those you already own (if they are eligible).

Apple is taking pre-orders for the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air, and the devices will start shipping on September 19.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:03 pm AEST (my time).

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