Apple News
Rising iPhone 18 Pro lead times point to solid early demand – Gene Munster
Average wait times for Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro models have lengthened to 2.6 weeks across eight countries just three days into pre-orders, a jump that veteran Apple watcher Gene Munster called a historically favorable sign for demand.
Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, posted his latest tracker Monday. Lead times rose from 1.6 weeks the day before to 2.6 weeks, matching where last year’s Pro models stood at the same point in the cycle. Part of the one-day surge, he noted, came from buyers returning to their computers after pre-orders opened on Saturday rather than the usual Friday. The more important takeaway, he said, is that wait times are moving higher.
iPhone Lead Time Tracker 3 days into Pre-Orders: We’re seeing average lead times of 2.6 weeks across 8 countries. That’s in line with where the Pro models were last year.
My take: Most importantly, the lead times jumped from 1.6 weeks yesterday to 2.6 weeks today. Part of that jump is people are back in front of their computers (pre-orders started on Saturday). The important part is lead times are going up, which has historically been a favorable sign for demand.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max began September 12. The phones go on sale Friday, September 18. This year’s launch is unusually narrow: Apple skipped the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone Air, delaying those models until 2027 amid memory and chip shortages, and scheduled its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, for pre-order on October 16 and availability October 23. Only the two Pro models are available now, at starting prices of $1,199 and $1,299.
Some configurations, especially popular Pro Max storage and color combinations, already show delivery windows stretching into early October. That tightening inventory is what Munster’s tracker is capturing. Rising lead times have often preceded stronger-than-expected iPhone units in past cycles, which is why he flagged the move as constructive for Apple.
Not every analyst reads the same data the same way. Bank of America and JPMorgan have noted that some year-over-year comparisons look shorter than last year’s iPhone 17 Pro cycle, and GF Securities’ Jeff Pu described initial demand as “lukewarm,” citing limited spec upgrades, higher prices, and buyers who may be waiting for the Duo. Munster’s point is narrower and more sequential: the fact that waits lengthened from one day to the next still matters.
The Duo, starting at $1,999, is expected to siphon some high-end buyers who would otherwise have chosen a Pro Max. How large that substitution effect becomes will only become clear after October 16. For now, Munster’s tracker suggests the phones that are on sale are finding buyers quickly enough to push delivery dates later.
MacDailyNews Take: Munster’s data showing lengthening wait times is meaningful. The other analysts’ looking just at YoY lead times do not have enoguh data to draw any meaningful conclusions.
You cannot measure demand based on shipping times without knowing how much supply Apple has in hand… and where and how those supplies are allocated in each geographic area. – MacDailyNews, September 17, 2024
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Apple’s Siri AI, a profoundly more capable and personal assistant, is finally here
Apple on Monday released the next generation of Apple Intelligence, powering Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri, and capabilities that make the apps and experiences users rely on every day more personal and helpful than ever. Siri AI is a profoundly more capable and conversational assistant with personal context understanding, broad world knowledge, onscreen awareness, and even more systemwide app actions. Siri AI can help users find what they need in the moment, from answering questions on virtually any topic to surfacing relevant information from a user’s messages, emails, photos, and more. And Apple Intelligence makes everyday experiences across Apple products more personal and helpful with new editing capabilities in Photos, intelligent browsing tools in Safari, an all-new Image Playground that can create photorealistic imagery, and more.
With Apple’s 2027 software releases, users can now access new Apple Intelligence capabilities across apps. Siri AI begins rolling out today in beta in English, and will expand to French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish next month.
An Entirely New Siri
Siri AI is a completely reimagined version of Siri that is more personal and powerful. With detailed responses and rich, natural conversations, Siri AI helps users get more done than ever before.
Built on Apple Intelligence, this new version of Siri draws on personal context understanding to help users find what they need in the moment across messages, emails, photos, and more. And with even more systemwide app actions, Siri AI can help users with tasks such as drafting an email from scratch or editing and sharing a set of photos.
With even more systemwide app actions, Siri AI can help users with tasks such as drafting an email from scratch.
For example, if a user asks Siri what a family member suggested as an activity during an upcoming visit, Siri can search the user’s messages and find that they mentioned wanting to bake a family recipe together. It can then pull up the cooking instructions from an email the relative sent previously and add the ingredients to their grocery list in the Reminders app.
Siri AI already works seamlessly with apps from Apple’s vast ecosystem of developers. Users can continue to take action in the apps they already use with Siri, like texting a friend in WhatsApp or playing a book on Audible. And soon, users will be able to ask Siri AI to draft an email in Microsoft Outlook, search for a homework assignment in Notability, or add a restaurant recommendation to Tripsy.
With onscreen awareness, Siri AI can answer questions or take actions related to the content on a user’s screen. For example, while viewing their favorite sports team’s website, a user can ask Siri to find all the upcoming home games and add them directly to their calendar. And Siri AI can also use broad world knowledge to get up-to-date information on virtually any topic. Whether a user is looking for the score of a football game, tips for planning a vacation, or the best local coffee spot in a new city, Siri AI will leverage information from across the web to deliver helpful, accurate answers.
With onscreen awareness, Siri AI can answer questions or take actions related to the content on a user’s screen.
Users can extend almost any response from Siri into a rich conversation and ask follow-up questions. And users can take advantage of Siri AI anywhere across the system. In addition to saying “Hey Siri,” iPhone users can invoke Siri with the side button, or swipe down from the Dynamic Island to start a conversation and get an in-depth answer. On iPad and Mac, Siri AI is integrated into Spotlight so users can search for answers to almost any question. It is also integrated into systemwide context menus, allowing users to Control-click to ask about images, files, or text on their screen. On Apple Vision Pro, Siri AI leverages spatial computing with a 3D visualization that users can place anywhere in their space, and they can invoke Siri by looking at it and starting to speak.
To revisit a past conversation or start a new one, users can open the all-new dedicated Siri app. The Siri app uses iCloud to privately sync conversational history across a user’s products, so they can start chatting with Siri on iPhone, and pick up the conversation on Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro, bringing together rich conversations in one place.
When users want to revisit a past conversation or kick off a new one, they can open the all-new dedicated Siri app.
Expressive Voices and Improved Dictation Powered by the Most Advanced On-Device Model
Siri AI offers even more expressive voices, as well as a major boost in accuracy, with systemwide dictation for products that support Apple’s most advanced on-device model ever, AFM Core Advanced. Users have the ability to customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri’s voice so it’s just right for them. Dictation now captures what users say as polished text with greater precision, automatically handling capitalization, punctuation, and formatting as they speak. And with improved speech understanding, users can speak naturally and trust that their words will appear clearly, accurately, and as intended.
Visual Intelligence Is Now on iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro
With Visual Intelligence, Siri AI offers powerful image understanding and multimodal capabilities, so users can ask questions about visual content across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro.
On iPhone, Siri’s multimodal capabilities are integrated right into the Camera app with a brand-new Siri mode, allowing users to get information and take action on what’s in front of them. For example, while looking at a poster for a music festival, a user can ask Siri what the set times are for their favorite artists, and then have Siri automatically create multiple calendar events for the weekend. On iPad, Visual Intelligence is integrated right into the screenshot experience. And on Mac, users can tap into it with a dedicated keyboard shortcut, allowing them to select something on their Mac display and type directly to Siri to get a helpful answer. Visual Intelligence also expands to Apple Vision Pro, allowing users to ask Siri about things just by looking at them, from the content inside app windows to physical objects around them.
The Ability to Write and Edit Virtually Anywhere with Siri AI
Siri now offers integrated Writing Tools that are more powerful than ever, allowing users to write with Siri AI virtually anywhere they type. Users can describe what they need and Siri can generate a draft from scratch to get the ball rolling. If a user wants to refine what they’ve written, they can describe the change they want to make and Siri can quickly update it.
Integrated Writing Tools are more powerful than ever, allowing users to write with Siri AI virtually anywhere they type.
When writing in Mail and Messages, Siri can reflect how users usually communicate with each recipient, including the punctuation and tone they typically use. Users can ask Siri for tips and suggestions to improve their written work. Plus, Apple Intelligence now automatically proofreads for users as they type across the system, including within most third-party apps.
Apple Intelligence now automatically proofreads for users as they type across the system, including within most third-party apps.
Powerful AI Capabilities Integrated into Everyday Experiences
In addition to Siri AI, Apple Intelligence powers many more new capabilities in the apps users rely on every day:
• The Photos app taps into more powerful image models to provide new ways to edit photos, while still respecting the original moment as it was captured. With Spatial Reframing, users can improve the composition of a photo by adjusting the camera perspective after the photo was taken. Users can also expand their shots with the Extend tool to give their subjects more breathing room, and the popular Clean Up tool is more powerful than ever, allowing users to remove distractions from their photos with even better quality and more realistic infill.
• Powered by a new generative model that runs on Private Cloud Compute, Image Playground is more powerful and useful than ever, giving users the ability to create high-quality images in virtually any style — now including photorealistic — and simply describe any changes they want to make. This capability extends to the new Siri, allowing users to generate images just by describing them in the Siri AI app, powered by Image Playground. And with upcoming support for the SynthID standard, users can identify images generated or edited with AI using Apple Intelligence-powered tools.
• Safari adds new tools that transform how users can browse the web. Now, Safari can simplify the browsing experience by automatically organizing a user’s tabs into topics. It can also notify users of website changes, like product restocks or price drops, with Notify Me, and create custom extensions based on a user’s description.
• In Mail and Messages, Smart Reply can draw on a user’s personalized writing style, and Suggestions in Mail are even more capable with the ability to take actions with third-party apps.
• With Call Context in Phone, users can proactively receive relevant information, like a confirmation code or reservation number, when they’re calling a business.
• In Calendar, users can now add or modify events with simple descriptions.
• Shortcuts is more approachable than ever. With the ability to describe a shortcut, users can create complex automations simply by describing what they want.
• The Home app adds the ability to understand related notifications as a single activity, view what’s happening across a sequence of video clips with generated video descriptions, search for clips across multiple cameras, and access noteworthy ones at the top of the Search page.
Coming Later This Year: New Audio Intelligence and Health Capabilities
Since Apple Watch is always on a user’s wrist, it is the perfect device to help users stay alert to important sounds and stay present and engaged in conversations throughout the day. With the built-in microphone, the power of the S11 chip, the latest Apple
Intelligence models on iPhone, and Private Cloud Compute, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 offer a brand-new class of Apple Intelligence features. Audio Intelligence helps users stay aware of the world around them, catch what they missed, and remember key moments — with user control, privacy, security, and accessibility at the center of its design.
Audio Intelligence features include:
• Sound Recognition, which comes to Apple Watch to alert users who are deaf or hard of hearing of important sounds, even when their iPhone isn’t with them. This feature listens for sounds like sirens, alarms, doorbells, or a baby crying, and uses on-device intelligence to notify users when they’re detected.
• Live Rewind, which can help users recall what was just said in conversation. A double press of the Digital Crown shows the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as a text snippet, so users can catch something they may have missed or are less familiar with. Users can ask Siri about the content of the text or save it to the Siri app to revisit later.
• Siri Recap, which can create high-level summaries of conversations that users can review later to jog their memory. When Siri Recap is turned on, after a conversation, Apple Intelligence automatically generates a title and key points in the new Siri app, allowing users to be more present and engaged in the moment.
• Shazam, which instantly detects the music playing around the user and automatically displays the song title and artist’s name on the Music Recognition widget in the Smart Stack, easily glanceable on the wrist.
Sound Recognition can alert Apple Watch users who are deaf or hard of hearing of important sounds, even when their iPhone isn’t with them. Live Rewind can help Apple Watch users recall what was just said in conversation. Siri Recap can create high-level summaries of conversations that users can review later to jog their memory. Shazam can now instantly detect the music playing around the user and automatically display the song title and artist’s name on the Music Recognition widget on Apple Watch.
Audio Intelligence features are private by design, combining hardware, software, and services to protect user privacy in a way that only Apple can. These features do not create or store audio recordings, and the raw audio used for processing is completely inaccessible to the operating systems, apps, the user, or Apple. This is because the S11 chip on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 includes Secure Exclave, a dedicated hardware-isolated compartment that processes audio in complete isolation from the rest of the system, then immediately deletes it.
Users are in control and can choose whether to opt in to each Audio Intelligence feature. They can decide exactly where and when Siri Recap takes notes, and can turn Siri Recap on or off at any time, right from Control Center.
By design, Audio Intelligence features do not identify and attribute speakers, to protect the privacy of both the user and those around them. Siri Recap produces a brief, high-level summary of conversations — not a transcript — and is designed to exclude sensitive information like financial information or government-assigned identifiers. Live Rewind plays an audible chime when it is being used, even if Apple Watch is on silent, and shows a full-display animation and microphone indicator so people nearby can hear and see that the feature has been activated.
Live Rewind text snippets and Siri Recap summaries are end-to-end encrypted in the Siri app with iCloud syncing, and are not accessible even by Apple. Learn more about how Audio Intelligence protects privacy. Siri Recap and Live Rewind arrive in beta later this year.
In addition, the Health app gets a new design, turning a user’s metrics into personalized guidance with Apple Intelligence at its core. The new Insights tab has a summary generated by Apple Intelligence that highlights a user’s most timely information, surfacing details like the latest on their sleep or peak VO2 max. Users will also get personalized guidance from the Health app. For example, if they are working to improve their cardiovascular health, they may see suggestions to incorporate intervals in their regular morning run — recommendations that dynamically adapt to the user and their data.
The new health capabilities will be available later this year.
The redesigned Health app on iPhone features a new Longevity tab that analyzes a user’s longitudinal health data for deeper insights, including Health Age, an Apple Watch feature showing users how certain metrics are tracking relative to their age. Arriving later this year, the updated Health app will also feature a new Insights tab that surfaces timely health information with a summary that updates throughout the day across heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals, and cycle tracking data.
A Bold Architecture, Built Privacy-First
These new capabilities are powered by the next generation of Apple Foundation Models, custom-built in collaboration with Google and its Gemini models for deeply integrated Apple Intelligence experiences. These latest models run on device and on servers using Private Cloud Compute. Every facet of new Apple Intelligence architecture is built privacy-first, from the latest Apple Foundation Models to the core operating system technologies that integrate these models deep into Apple’s platforms.
Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute to help protect users’ privacy. Private Cloud Compute gives users access to frontier-level intelligence while extending the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud. When Private Cloud Compute is handling users’ requests, their personal data is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else. Outside experts can continue to verify this privacy promise at any time.
Siri has been rebuilt from the ground up with powerful AI, taking full advantage of the bold new architecture for Apple Intelligence. Additionally, Siri AI uses the system orchestrator to tap into core capabilities like the Spotlight index and App Toolbox, which work entirely on device to keep users in control of their data.
With powerful new features and unrivaled privacy protections, Siri remains the world’s most private digital assistant, backed by a bold architecture that allows Apple to deliver innovative new features with privacy and security at their core.
Pricing and Availability
• Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 is available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, MacBook Neo (A18 Pro), Mac models with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.
• Apple Intelligence is available with Siri settings and device language set to Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions.
• Siri AI is rolling out in beta in English in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27, and requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language. Support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish is coming next month.
• Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Features that rely on Siri AI will also not be available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Apple is working hard to find a path forward that preserves its users’ privacy and security.
• Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.
• Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, intelligent photo editing tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to Apple Intelligence terms and conditions. Learn more at apple.com/apple-intelligence.
MacDailyNews Note: Siri AI is not available for users under 13.
Apple’s most powerful on-device model and the features it enables, like expressive voices and more advanced dictation, are available on iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad (M4) or later with at least 12GB of unified memory, and Mac (M3) or later with at least 12GB of unified memory. The model and expressive voices are also available on Apple Vision Pro (M5).
SynthID will be available in a software update later this year, and will be included for most edited images, depending on the edits applied.
Home app’s ability to understand related notifications as a single activity, view what’s happening across a sequence of video clips with generated video descriptions, search for clips across multiple cameras, and access noteworthy ones at the top of the Search page requires a home hub such as HomePod (2nd generation), HomePod mini, or Apple TV 4K with the latest operating system software. The owner of the home must have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, have Apple Intelligence enabled in the Home app, and subscribe to an eligible iCloud+ plan.
Audio Intelligence includes Live Rewind, Siri Recap, Sound Recognition, and faster Shazam, and requires Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4. Live Rewind and Siri Recap will be available in beta in late 2026, and require an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 16 or later (excluding iPhone 16e). They will be available in English to start and will not initially be available in the EU. Certain Audio Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Live Rewind and Siri Recap. For more information, visit support.apple.com/148354.
Sound Recognition requires Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4.
Live Rewind will be available in beta in late 2026, and requires Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4, paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 16 or later (excluding iPhone 16e). It will be available in English to start and will not initially be available in the EU. Certain Audio Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Live Rewind and Siri Recap. For more information, visit support.apple.com/148354.
Siri Recap will be available in beta in late 2026 and requires Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4, paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 16 or later (excluding iPhone 16e). Available in English to start. Siri Recap will not initially be available in the EU. Certain Audio Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Live Rewind and Siri Recap. For more information, visit support.apple.com/148354.
Faster Shazam requires Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4.
The redesigned Health app is available on Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone and iPad models with the latest software, with select features available only on iPhone. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Health Age requires Apple Watch. The test to estimate VO2 max requires Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3, or a third-party heart rate sensing device. Some features require users to be 18 or older. For information on Apple Intelligence availability, visit support.apple.com/en-us/121115.
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Apple asks U.S. Supreme Court to vacate App Store contempt finding, arguing it never violated the order’s text
Apple has filed its opening merits brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to reverse or vacate a civil contempt ruling that stripped the company of commissions on purchases made through external payment links in U.S. App Store apps.
The brief, filed September 14, 2026, in Apple Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc. (No. 25-1311), marks the start of the argument phase in a case the Court agreed to hear on June 30. The justices limited review to a single question: whether a party can be held in civil contempt for violating the “spirit” of an injunction when the order is silent on the conduct later deemed a violation.
How the fight reached the high court
Epic Games sued Apple in 2020 after Fortnite was removed from the App Store for offering an in-app payment system that bypassed Apple’s commission. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers largely sided with Apple on federal antitrust claims but found that Apple’s anti-steering rules violated California’s Unfair Competition Law. In 2021 she issued a short permanent injunction — Apple notes it was only about 75 words — requiring the company to let developers include links and other calls to action that send users to alternative purchase options.
Apple allowed those links but charged commissions of 12% to 27% on resulting sales. Few developers used the system. Epic returned to court, arguing the fees made the injunction meaningless. In April 2025, Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in civil contempt and barred it from collecting any commission on U.S. link-out purchases. The Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding in December 2025 but said a total ban on fees went too far and sent the case back for a more tailored rate. Apple then petitioned the Supreme Court.
Apple’s core argument
Apple’s brief rests on a long line of Supreme Court contempt cases, including Taggart v. Lorenzen (2019). The company says civil contempt requires “clear notice” that the specific conduct is forbidden. Silence is not enough. The 2021 injunction never mentioned commissions, Apple argues, and even Epic once acknowledged the order did not explicitly prohibit fees on off-store transactions.
“When it comes to contempt proceedings, an order’s terms govern,” the brief states. Courts may later modify an injunction to address new circumstances, Apple says, but they cannot use contempt to punish conduct the original order never clearly banned. Apple contends the Ninth Circuit is an outlier in allowing contempt based on an injunction’s “spirit.”
If the Supreme Court agrees, the contempt order would fall and Apple could seek to restore pre-2025 App Store rules, or at least negotiate fees without the stigma of being a contemnor. If the finding stands, the district court in Oakland must still set a “reasonable” commission for external purchases. Those fee proceedings have continued even as the Supreme Court case moves forward; earlier stay requests, including one denied by Justice Elena Kagan, failed to freeze them.
What comes next
Epic’s response brief is due November 13, 2026. Apple’s reply is due December 14. Oral argument is not expected before early 2027. Amicus briefs supporting Apple are due later this month.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney dismissed Apple’s framing after the brief dropped, saying the company is fighting for developers’ right to offer cheaper payment options and that lower courts “have rightly found Apple’s fees to be illegal and anticompetitive.”
The case will not decide whether Apple monopolized the iPhone app market. It will decide how strictly courts must hew to the text of an injunction before they can hold a company in contempt — a question with implications well beyond the App Store. For now, U.S. developers can still point users to external checkout with no Apple commission attached, while both sides wait for the Court to say whether that zero-fee regime was ever lawfully imposed.
MacDailyNews Take: The U.S. Supreme Court should vacate this contempt finding against Apple.
It’s about time the highest court in the land takes a serious look at this judicial overreach.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and the Ninth Circuit have turned a narrow injunction into a never-ending micromanagement session of Apple’s App Store. Apple bent over backward to comply — allowing external payment links while protecting users and its ecosystem — only to get slapped with contempt for daring to charge a reasonable 27% commission on purchases that still leverage Apple’s platform, billing systems, and intellectual property. Epic’s Tim Sweeney, the perpetual sore loser who can’t compete fairly, continues his crusade to freeload off Apple’s hard work while crying “monopoly.”
This case has always been about one thing: Epic wants to undermine the very model that makes the iPhone secure, private, and reliable — all so they can rake in more profits without contributing fairly.
Here’s hoping the Supreme Court reins in this nonsense, limits the scope of overbroad injunctions, and affirms Apple’s right to run its own store on its own devices. The App Store isn’t a public utility, it’s Apple’s intellectual property. – MacDailyNews, June 30, 2026
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Apple bundles Apple TV, Arcade, and Music Select into iCloud+ in 100+ countries
Apple is turning paid iCloud+ storage plans into a much broader services bundle in more than 100 countries, adding Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and a new limited music offering called Apple Music Select at no extra charge. The change applies even to the cheapest 50GB tier and is rolling out through the end of September 2026.
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western and Northern Europe — including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden — are not included. Russia is also left out.
What subscribers get
Every paid iCloud+ plan in the included markets now covers:
• Apple TV streaming, with access treated as equivalent to a standalone subscription
• Apple Arcade, including more than 200 games, with existing game saves and progress preserved
• Apple Music Select, a set of ad-free, Apple-programmed stations for lean-back listening, including regionally relevant mixes plus categories such as Top Songs, 80s, and 90s, available in the Home tab of the Music app
Full Apple Music is not included. Apple is instead offering a discounted upgrade path from iCloud+ to a complete Music subscription. In Mozambique, that discounted add-on was cited at $2.79 a month for Individual and $4.49 for Family. In India, the 50GB iCloud+ plan costs 75 rupees a month; adding discounted Music at 115 rupees can still undercut the old Apple One individual price of 195 rupees.
Family Sharing continues to work: storage, TV, and Arcade can be shared with up to five other people.
Standalone plans and Apple One are being wound downIn the affected countries, Apple will stop selling standalone Apple TV and Apple Arcade subscriptions. Existing standalone subscribers will be moved onto iCloud+ and keep uninterrupted access. Apple One is closing to new sign-ups in those markets, though current Apple One customers can keep their plans.
The strategy looks like a pivot: instead of pushing a premium multi-service bundle in price-sensitive markets, Apple is using cheap cloud storage as the hook and wrapping entertainment around it.
Apple TV’s map gets bigger
The same announcement expands Apple TV into 59 additional countries, bringing the service to 170 countries worldwide. Content and Arcade catalogs can still vary by region.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services and Health, said in a statement that the company is “excited to bring Apple TV and Apple Arcade to iCloud+ users in over 100 countries in one convenient subscription.”
There is no timeline for whether the same deal will ever arrive in the U.S. or other excluded markets.
Full list of countries and territories:
Albania; Algeria; Angola; Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; British Virgin Islands; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Cayman Islands; Chad; Côte d’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dominica; Egypt; Eswatini; Fiji; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; India; Iraq; Israel; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kosovo; Kuwait; Kyrgyz Republic; Lebanon; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Maldives; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Micronesia; Moldova; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nauru; Nepal; Niger; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Qatar; Republic of the Congo; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; São Tomé and Príncipe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Suriname; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe.
MacDailyNews Note: Availability of specific features, shows, and games may still differ by country, region, or device. Existing iCloud+ subscribers in the listed markets should receive TV and Arcade automatically as the rollout completes this month.
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Apple TV renews award-winning spy drama ‘Slow Horses’ for eighth season
Apple TV announced a season eight for Emmy- and BAFTA Award-winning, darkly comedic spy drama “Slow Horses.” The six-episode eighth season is adapted from “Clown Town,” the ninth novel in Mick Herron’s “Slough House” book series, and stars Academy Award winner Sir Gary Oldman, who has been honored with Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA Award nominations for his outstanding performance as the beloved, irascible Jackson Lamb. The complete first five seasons of “Slow Horses” are now streaming on Apple TV, with the premiere of season six slated for September 16, 2026, and season seven announced last year.
“‘Slow Horses’ continues to charm audiences all around the world and I’m delighted that Jackson Lamb and his gang of lovable misfits will be back for an eighth season,” said Jay Hunt, creative director, International, Apple TV. “Their acerbic take on the high-octane world of espionage is completely unique.”
“Slow Horses” has been hailed as “one of the best, if not the best, series on TV,” a “gripping spy drama” that delivers a “story that is a masterful balance of tension, intelligence and a character-driven narrative.” With its “layered intrigue, relentless pacing and satirical tone,” the “standout” series features “stellar performances, a tight screenplay and its signature dark humor.” All five seasons of the “infinitely watchable,” “thrilling” and “riveting” series hold a Certified Fresh score, with two seasons receiving a rare, perfect 100% critics’ score, and season four hailed as the number one series of 2024 on Rotten Tomatoes. “Slow Horses” has won three Emmy Awards, including two for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and one for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, alongside five BAFTA Television Awards, including Writer, Drama and two consecutive wins each for Editing, Fiction and Sound, Fiction, as the series continues to receive global accolades from critics and fans alike.
Season eight sees Jackson Lamb and Diana Taverner face off in their most explosive confrontation yet. When a botched attempt to blackmail the Park puts Taverner on the offensive, it is up to Lamb to unravel one of MI5’s darkest secrets and put an end to it once and for all.
“Slow Horses” is a darkly humorous espionage drama that follows a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 known un-affectionately as Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but cantankerous leader of the spies, who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes and who frequently find themselves blundering around the smoke and mirrors of the espionage world.
The series is produced for Apple TV by See-Saw Films, with Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Douglas Urbanski, Adam Randall, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gail Mutrux, Billy Bowring, Helen Gregory, Mick Herron and Oldman serving as executive producers. Season eight is adapted for television and executive produced by Ben Vanstone, with Randall set to return as director. See-Saw Films is part of the Mediawan group.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on 1 November, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 917 wins and 3,827 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” global cultural phenomenon “Severance,” Apple’s most-viewed drama “Pluribus,” Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA” and Academy Award winner “F1,” the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
MacDailyNews Take: Richly deserved! If you haven’t yet watched “Slow Horses,” you’re in for a treat. The season one finale is positively amazing and you’ll be ready to go from there for seven more seasons and countig!
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple’s next wave: touch-screen MacBooks, a smart-home hub, and 14 more products
Apple has barely finished unveiling the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro lineup, AirPods 5, and new Apple Watches, but the company already has a much larger pipeline queued up for late 2026 and the first half of 2027, according to Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman.
The coming products are part of what new CEO John Ternus has internally described as Apple’s most ambitious product road map yet. Many of the devices are designed to spread Siri AI more widely across the lineup and close some of the gap with rivals in artificial intelligence. As always, dates can slip and products can be delayed or canceled.
Later this yearGurman reports that Apple is preparing several updates before year-end:
• HomePod mini with Siri AI — Same familiar design as the 2020 model, but with a new chip to power the overhauled assistant.
• Apple TV with Siri AI — Another look-alike refresh, this time with a faster chip for navigation and the new Siri experience.
• Smart-home hub — A square display that can sit on a speaker base or mount on a wall. It will run a new operating system, support video calls, and use facial recognition to personalize what it shows. Apple had considered showing it at last week’s event and is now aiming as early as October, though the timeline remains fluid after repeated delays.
• Touch-screen MacBooks — The biggest MacBook Pro change since 2021, adding OLED panels and touch screens for the first time, with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
• Entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro — Current design, updated with the M6 chip.
• iMac — New colors and an M6 processor.
• iPad mini — One of the line’s biggest upgrades, adding an OLED display.
The HomePod mini and Apple TV are already being tested with iOS 27. The new Macs are running macOS 27.1 internally, and the iPad mini is on iPadOS 27.1. Both of those software updates are expected late next month.
First half of 2027
The spring and early summer slate is heavier on refresh cycles than radical redesigns:
• MacBook Air — Same 13-inch and 15-inch designs, moving to the M6 chip.
• MacBook Neo — Follow-up model with an A19 Pro chip and more memory.
• Entry-level iPad — Faster chip so the cheaper tablet can run Apple Intelligence and Siri AI.
• iPad Pro — Chip upgrade plus vapor-chamber cooling similar to the iPhone 18 Pro.
• iPad Air — First OLED screens in that line, plus a new chip.
• iPhone 18 — Largely an A20 chip upgrade, with the notable change that the standard model is shifting from fall to spring.
• iPhone 18e — Another chip-focused update; Apple will need to make clear how it differs from the regular iPhone 18.
• iPhone Air 2 — More substantial: a 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip, better battery life, and a second rear camera for ultrawide shots.
• Apple Pencils — New Pencil Pro and USB-C models timed with the iPads; the iPhone Duo will support the stylus as well.
Looking further ahead
The second half of 2027 is expected to get more ambitious still, Gurman writes, with M7 updates to MacBooks, smart glasses, camera-equipped AirPods, a home security system, a redesigned Apple Watch, Twentieth Anniversary iPhones, and a second-generation foldable iPhone Duo.
MacDailyNews Take: Taken together, the road map suggests Apple is trying to do two things at once: push Siri AI onto more affordable and living-room devices, and finally refresh categories that have languished for years. Whether October brings a full event or quieter waves of launches, the next 12 months look unusually crowded with product launces!
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Apple TV sets new Emmy record as ‘Widow’s Bay’ triumphs as most decorated freshman comedy in Emmy history
Monday evening at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Apple TV shattered records to become the most awarded network of the year, landing 29 wins overall, including Outstanding Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay” as the breakout sensation sweeps all major categories with 14 wins in total and cements itself as the most Emmy-awarded freshman comedy series in history. Additionally, “Widow’s Bay” lands the most wins for a comedy series in a single season, as well as the most performance wins of any series in 2026.
In addition to Outstanding Comedy Series, “Widow’s Bay” scores with wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Matthew Rhys, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Kate O’Flynn, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Stephen Root, alongside Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Katie Dippold and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Hiro Murai. Global phenomenon “Pluribus” lands Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Vince Gilligan, while acclaimed drama “Slow Horses” wins Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Saul Metzstein.
With these wins, Apple TV reaches the status of the most Emmy-awarded network faster than any other streamer in just seven Emmy seasons, and stands as home of the most Emmy Award-winning series for the second year in a row following last year’s wins for Outstanding Comedy Series “The Studio.” Apple TV also makes history as the first and only streaming service to land back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series awards, landing wins for four of the last six years with “Ted Lasso,” “The Studio,” and “Widow’s Bay.”
Additionally, “Widow’s Bay” breaks records with the most Emmy wins for performances out of any other series this year, as director and executive producer Hiro Murai becomes the first Asian ever to win in the comedy directing category.
“Reaching milestones like these feels incredibly special for all of us at Apple, but what makes it especially meaningful is what it represents: the extraordinary storytellers we have the privilege of working alongside,” said Matt Cherniss, Apple TV’s head of programming, in a statement. “There is nothing like the power of a great story to capture our imaginations, surprise us in unexpected ways, and remind us of what connects us. Widow’s Bay, Pluribus, and Slow Horses have done exactly that. Congratulations to all of the artists honored and thank you to the Television Academy.”
Outstanding Comedy Series winner “Widow’s Bay” lands 14 wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for star and executive producer Matthew Rhys, alongside an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series win for Kate O’Flynn and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Stephen Root, as well as Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Katie Dippold and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Hiro Murai, who becomes the first Asian director to win in this category. Widow’s Bay also leads with the most performer wins of any series this year. These wins are in addition to the previously announced honors for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Betty Gilpin; Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour); Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series; Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour); Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score); Outstanding Music Supervision; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation; and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.
Pluribus landed six wins, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn.
Global hit “Pluribus” earns six wins including for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for creator Vince Gilligan and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for star Rhea Seehorn. These are in addition to the previously announced wins for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music; and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour). Acclaimed spy thriller “Slow Horses” lands one win for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Saul Metzstein.
Apple’s acclaimed comedy “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” makes its Emmy debut with three previously announced wins, including Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series, Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling, and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Comedy series “Palm Royale” earns three Emmy Award wins, including Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming, Outstanding Period Costumes, and Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Apple TV also scored two wins on the first night of the 78th Emmy Awards: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for “Mr. Scorsese,” and Outstanding Commercial for “I’m Not Remarkable.”
Earlier this year, Apple scored 89 Primetime Emmy Award nominations across 15 programs, leading as the network with the most nominations in the Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Comedy series categories, respectively, nabbing top program nominations for comedies “Widow’s Bay,” “Shrinking,” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” alongside dramas “Pluribus,” “Slow Horses,” and “Your Friends & Neighbors.” “Widow’s Bay” led as one of this year’s most-nominated programs with 19 nominations in total, and “Pluribus” landed 18 nominations following its global hit freshman season, as celebrated Apple Original “Shrinking” earned 10 nominations, “Slow Horses” was recognized with nine nominations, and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” scored eight nominations in total. The record-breaking nominations followed Apple TV sweeping last year’s Emmy Awards with “The Studio” becoming the most winning freshman comedy in Emmy history and Severance leading as most winning drama.
Slow Horses took home Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Saul Metzstein.
To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honored with 917 wins and 3,827 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies The Studio and Ted Lasso; global cultural phenomenon Severance; Apple’s most-viewed drama, Pluribus; Academy Award Best Picture winner CODA; and Academy Award winner F1, the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
In total, Apple earned 29 wins for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, including:
Widow’s Bay (14)
• Outstanding Comedy Series
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate O’Flynn
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Stephen Root
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Katie Dippold
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai
• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty Gilpin
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
• Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)
• Outstanding Music Supervision
• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
Pluribus (6)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Rhea Seehorn
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Vince Gilligan
• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)
• Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series
• Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
Margo’s Got Money Troubles (3)
• Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series
• Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
• Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Slow Horses (1)
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Saul Metzstein
Palm Royale (3)
• Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming
• Outstanding Period Costumes
• Outstanding Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)
Mr. Scorsese (1)
• Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Outstanding Commercial (1)
• “I’m Not Remarkable”: Apple
MacDailyNews Take: This will lead to an influx of Apple TV subscribers. Congrats to all of the Apple TV casts and crews of the nominated and winning fare!
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GM capitulates on Apple CarPlay ban; brings back system later this year
General Motors has capitulated on its hard line against phone projection, bringing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into a new truck user interface after years of pushing customers toward its own software, according to Bloomberg News‘ David Welch.
The automaker will introduce the system later this year on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. Rather than letting CarPlay or Android Auto occupy the entire screen, GM is placing the phone interface in a large window alongside native functions such as trailering data, tire pressure, fuel information, and Super Cruise.
The design is a retreat from GM’s 2023 decision to drop CarPlay and Android Auto from electric vehicles, a move that drew backlash from buyers who wanted their familiar phone apps on the dashboard. Gas-powered trucks had kept the features, and the new interface is meant to end the either-or choice between Apple or Google and GM’s own system.
GM product officials have described the split view as the “sweet spot,” allowing drivers to use phone apps without losing truck-specific tools. Tapping the phone icon opens CarPlay or Android Auto in the large pane; the home control returns the native layout.
The software also adds updated graphics, animated transitions, and simplified layouts for towing and off-roading on large displays, including a 16.3-inch touchscreen. GM plans to start with its highest-volume pickups before spreading the interface more widely.
MacDailyNews Take: Shocker.
General Motors is blowing it by barring the widely-used Apple CarPlay (and Google’s derivative Android Auto) that allow drivers to bypass vehicle’s infotainment systems, shifting instead to an built-in infotainment system, Google Automotive, for future electric vehicles.
For us, and many, many others, General Motors simply moves even further out of consideration for future purchases (GM never really was in consideration anyway).
If GM sticks to this stupidity, it deserves its fate. – MacDailyNews, May 15, 2023
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Indian watchdog escalates Apple probe over iOS 18 warranty terms
India’s consumer regulator has intensified its investigation into Apple’s software warranty practices after complaints that the iOS 18 update damaged iPhone screens and other functions, leaving users to pay steep repair bills, according to Reuters’ Aditya Kalra.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) told Apple in late July that it had “escalated” the matter for a detailed inquiry by its investigation wing. The case follows a large volume of complaints that the late-2024 iOS 18 rollout caused display problems — including green, pink or white lines on screens — and microphone failures. Because Apple’s software licence agreements state that iOS is provided “without warranty of any kind,” customers say they were forced to pay for repairs themselves.The estimated cost to replace a damaged iPhone 15 screen is about 27,900 rupees ($291), more than a third of the device’s retail price in some cases. The regulator has accused Apple of violating the rights of “consumers as a class” and of charging customers for problems that allegedly stemmed from the company’s own software update.
Apple has pushed back. In an August letter and a public statement, the company said it found no systemic issues or safety concerns with iOS 18 in India, that the software underwent stringent testing, and that the CCPA case rests on a relatively small number of complaints. Apple also noted that only about 11% of iPhones in India were still running iOS 18 by June 2026. It argued that a “no warranty” clause for software is standard across the electronics industry and that users are informed of the terms before installation. Treating every software problem as a breach of an absolute warranty, Apple said, would turn software makers into insurers against all technological risk.
The dispute comes as Apple rapidly expands manufacturing and market share in India, where iPhone sales rose to a 9% share last year from 4% in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. It also adds to existing regulatory pressure on the company in the country, including antitrust scrutiny.
If the CCPA ultimately finds violations, Apple could face fines and, more consequentially, orders to issue refunds or alter its warranty and disclosure practices. New Delhi-based consumer-law specialist Kirti Mahapatra said investigators can demand documents and hold hearings. The authority can require clearer information for customers and, in theory, changes to contractual terms—though she described the latter as unprecedented.
Apple said it would work with authorities to provide clarity on customer response to the software. The CCPA did not immediately comment.The outcome could set a notable precedent for how software updates and warranty disclaimers are treated under Indian consumer law.
MacDailyNews Take:
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Apple releases iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27
Apple’s latest software updates introduce Siri AI, a more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable version of Siri, and deliver helpful new Apple Intelligence features that make the apps users interact with day to day smarter and more useful. The updates also bring powerful and intuitive new features to help parents create safer, more enriching digital experiences for kids and introduce an expansive set of improvements that make Apple products more responsive, more delightful, and easier to use.
Making Apple Products More Personal and Useful Than Ever
Siri AI is an entirely new version of Siri powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence and deeply integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. A more capable and conversational assistant with personal context understanding, broad world knowledge, onscreen awareness, and even more systemwide app actions, Siri AI is now rolling out as a beta in English, with support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish coming in October.
Siri AI can understand personal context across messages, emails, photos, and more, to help users find what they need in the moment. It can also answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen or go out to the web to get up-to-date information to generate a helpful answer. Siri is integrated into the Camera app on iPhone with Siri mode, allowing users to get information and take action on what’s in front of them, like splitting a bill and paying friends with Apple Cash, or adding a custom pass to Wallet. With Visual Intelligence, users on iPhone, iPad, or Mac can now ask Siri about what they’re looking at on the screen, and Vision Pro users can search, ask questions, and take action simply by looking at their surroundings and asking Siri.
With Write with Siri, users can simply describe what they need to generate a draft or help refine what they’ve written. A dedicated Siri app uses iCloud to privately sync conversational history across a user’s products, so they can start chatting with Siri on iPhone and continue the conversation on Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro.
The next generation of Apple Intelligence also brings helpful new features to apps that users rely on every day. In Photos, Spatial Reframing, Extend, and an upgraded Clean Up tool provide more ways to edit photos while respecting the original moment as it was captured. Image Playground gives users the ability to create high-quality images in virtually any style, including photorealistic, and with image metadata and upcoming support for the SynthID standard, users can identify images generated or edited with AI. In Safari, Apple Intelligence powers new tools that automatically organize a user’s tabs into topics; notify them of website changes, like product restocks or price drops; and enable the creation of custom extensions based on a description. Call Context surfaces relevant information, like a confirmation code or reservation number, when calling a business.
New Expert-Informed Child Safety Features and a Redesigned Screen Time Experience
Easy-to-use new features help parents manage what their kids can see, who they can talk to, and when they have access to apps. A new setup flow for child accounts makes it easier to enable age-based safeguards across the system. From the beginning, parents can choose the exact apps their kids have access to on their device, and gradually add more over time. Ask to Browse allows parents to require approval before their kids access a new website in Safari. In addition to being able to approve each new contact their kids connect with, parents can lean on Communication Safety, which now also detects and intervenes to block gore or violent content when detected in shared images or videos.
Redesigned to be more intuitive for parents, Screen Time offers an at-a-glance view of their kids’ average device usage and top apps. New tools make it easy to set daily total time allowances across Entertainment, Games, and Social Media apps, with guidance from leading clinical and child development experts, and Schedules let parents manage which apps their children have access to at different points in the day.
For parents and families looking for more information on how to help create safer, more enriching digital experiences for their kids, Apple has a dedicated website, which includes details on the latest tools and how to get started using them.
A More Refined Experience Across Platforms
The 2027 software releases deliver platform improvements that span performance, connectivity, search, and more, making Apple products even more responsive, reliable, and delightful to use.
• Performance: Users will experience faster performance on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On iPhone and iPad, apps launch up to 30 percent faster, photos load up to 70 percent faster after being taken, and AirDrop transfers are up to 80 percent faster. On iPad, browsing files and transferring them to an external USB drive is now up to 5x faster, and there are additional improvements to closing, switching, and dragging windows while multitasking. On Mac, things users do every day feel extra snappy and responsive. AirDrop transfers are quicker, iCloud Photos uploads begin faster, swiping between spaces and Mission Control is smoother, and more. On Apple Watch, music playback is even faster.
• Connectivity: On iPhone and iPad, transitions between cellular and Wi-Fi networks are more seamless than ever. In Messages, sending large photos and videos in low-bandwidth situations no longer prevents subsequent texts from going through, so users can continue replying while media is being delivered. On Mac, users will experience faster network file browsing. Apple Vision Pro starts and connects to Wi-Fi up to 3x faster.
• Search: On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, search across Spotlight, Photos, and Mail is more stable, efficient, and comprehensive, so it can better help users find exactly what they are looking for. Additionally, a completely new ranking system in Mail surfaces even more relevant results in Top Hits.
• Design: Refinements to the software design with Liquid Glass deliver an even more focused and approachable experience. For example, a new slider in Settings gives users the option to personalize Liquid Glass, adjusting it anywhere from ultraclear to fully tinted to match their preference, and app icons have been updated to be sharper and more defined.
Additional features across platforms:
• iCloud Shared Albums support full-resolution sharing for photos and videos, and make it easier for Android and Windows users to join and contribute.
• The Health app brings support for perimenopause and menopause in Cycle Tracking, including notifications about cycle deviations inclusive of perimenopause.
• AirPods users can now enjoy custom EQ to further personalize how their AirPods sound. And with expanded Apple GymKit functionality, users with AirPods Pro 3 can sync their heart rate data through iPhone while enjoying incredible audio quality.
• Apple Maps brings an enhanced Flyover experience, which combines aerial imagery with AI, allowing users to enjoy even more detailed visuals.
• On Apple Watch, new Smart Stack widget suggestions surface when they are relevant, and users can conveniently open a widget with a new single-handed tap gesture. Workout Buddy is supported even when users don’t have their iPhone nearby, and it’s now available in Spanish in addition to English.
• Apple Vision Pro users can now turn panoramas into spatial scenes with rich depth and use them as a personal Environment, or transform their space entirely with the new Thórsmörk Environment featuring a dynamic Icelandic aurora.
• On Apple TV, users get high-resolution lossless audio support for Apple Music, a redesigned Apple Podcasts app, and broader text-size accessibility options.
The new features start rolling out today across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27.
Availability
Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
New Apple Intelligence capabilities across apps are available for users with supported products set to a supported language. Siri AI begins rolling out as a beta in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish coming in October.
Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.
Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.
Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported products set to a supported language will have access with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see apple.com/apple-intelligence.
Apple Intelligence and Siri AI in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 are available on iPhone Duo, iPhone Air, iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, MacBook Neo (A18 Pro), Mac with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone. Some features on Apple Watch require iPhone nearby.
Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, intelligent photo editing tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to Apple Intelligence terms and conditions. Learn more at apple.com/apple-intelligence. Siri AI is not available for users under 13.
MacDailyNews Take: Hello, Siri AI! Happy updating!
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Apple accelerates Retail Store overhaul, bringing back dedicated Genius Bars
Apple is speeding up a global renovation of its retail stores, replacing giant marketing video walls with dedicated Genius Bars and carving out new side bays for online pickups and Today at Apple sessions, according to Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reported that the company plans to accelerate renovations over the coming years while becoming more selective about opening new locations. The shift marks a move away from the more open, community-style layout that defined many stores after the last major redesign cycle.Three changes define the new approach. First, Apple is remaking the Avenue — the side stretches of stores that showcase accessories and services. Dedicated roughly 10-foot bays will handle online order pickups and Today at Apple sessions, replacing the large pickup tables and sprawling seating areas now common on the floor.Second, the large video walls at the back of many stores are slated for removal. Those displays have been used for workshops and marketing. In many renovated locations, they will give way to service counters instead.
Third, dedicated Genius Bars are returning. Apple moved years ago toward a more informal Genius Grove model. The new bars, Gurman reported, echo the older layout but with an all-wood finish, two counter heights for accessibility, storage drawers, and large product posters on the wall behind staff.
Apple has already tested elements of the design in some stores, including internationally, and now intends to roll the look out more broadly and faster than previously planned. Back-of-house areas and employee break rooms are also expected to be upgraded as part of the work.
The changes point to a retail strategy that puts visible technical support and order fulfillment closer to the center of the store experience, while tightening how existing locations are refreshed rather than rapidly adding new ones.
MacDailyNews Take: Genius Bars never should’ve ben removed, so this is a welcome return for longtime Apple Retail Store customers.
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Apple’s board spent $879 billion on buybacks instead of buying any of 488 S&P 500 companies
This year has been defined by two trends: the artificial intelligence data-center build-out and major leadership transitions. Among the latter, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett retired as CEO on December 31st, and Apple’s CEO role changed hands on September 1st. Both companies have kept continuity at the board level.
Over the roughly 15 long years since Apple’s last long CEO tenure began, a strong case can be made that a nearly $879 billion capital-allocation decision overseen by Apple’s board — enough, at recent market values, to buy 488 of the 500 companies in the S&P 500 — is what permanently changed the company’s financial profile for remaining shareholders.
The board wagered on Apple in a way Wall Street rarely sees at this scale
Given the sums now flowing into AI infrastructure, it would be easy to assume the $879 billion went into data centers, chips, or research and development. That is not what happened.
Apple’s board-authorized capital-return program has been defined by share repurchases, <a href=”https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/09/14/tim-cook-purchase-488-sp-500-companies-with-879-billion-he-bought-something-changed-apple-fortune-forever/>Sean Williams write for The Motley Fool. After the board instituted a new capital-allocation policy and authorized buybacks beginning in fiscal 2013 (Apple’s fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of September), the company has deployed about $878.5 billion:
• 2013: $22.95 billion
• 2014: $45 billion
• 2015: $35.253 billion
• 2016: $29.722 billion
• 2017: $32.9 billion
• 2018: $72.738 billion
• 2019: $66.897 billion
• 2020: $72.358 billion
• 2021: $85.971 billion
• 2022: $89.402 billion
• 2023: $77.55 billion
• 2024: $94.949 billion
• 2025: $90.711 billion
• 2026: $62.094 billion (through the fiscal third quarter)
In aggregate, those board-approved buybacks reduced Apple’s outstanding share count by about 44.5%.
That is the mechanical heart of the story. When a company retires shares, each remaining share represents a larger claim on future earnings and cash flow. Combined with rising net income and a services mix that has lifted margins, the smaller share count has amplified earnings per share and total shareholder returns far beyond what operating growth alone would have produced.
With the same pile of cash, Apple’s directors could have attempted a mega-acquisition of almost any S&P 500 name other than a handful of giants. They did not. They repeatedly authorized management to buy Apple stock instead — treating the company’s own shares as the preferred asset.
Buybacks are not free. Capital spent on repurchases is capital not spent on acquisitions, extra R&D, factories, or larger dividends. Critics argue that at rich valuations the board has sometimes paid a high price to shrink the float. Supporters counter that Apple’s enormous free cash flow made a multi-year return of capital inevitable, and that concentrating ownership in remaining holders has been one of the most powerful compounding tools in modern large-cap history.
The policy is also a board function, not a one-person decision. Share-repurchase authorizations are approved and refreshed by directors. Execution happens in the market over years. That is why the $879 billion figure belongs, first, to Apple’s board of directors: they set the priority, kept expanding it, and let it run long enough to retire nearly half the equity base.
MacDailyNews Take: As the new John Ternus era begins, investors will watch whether the board, with former CEO Tim Cook as its Executive Chair, keeps the same bias (returning surplus cash through buybacks) or tilts more toward product and infrastructure spending. The last decade-plus already shows what that choice can do: not the purchase of 488 other companies, but a larger ownership stake in Apple itself.
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Apple TV hosts world premiere for the sixth season of ‘Slow Horses’ at TIFF
Friday night at the TIFF Lightbox Theater in Toronto, Apple TV celebrated the world premiere of the sixth season of Emmy Award-winning spy series “Slow Horses,” which makes its global debut on Apple TV on September 16, 2026. Red carpet attendees included Sir Gary Oldman, who reunited with stars Olivia Cooke, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Ruth Bradley, alongside director and executive producer Adam Randall, executive producers Hakan Kousetta and Douglas Urbanski, and co-executive producer Billy Bowring.
“Slow Horses” is a darkly humorous espionage drama that follows a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 known, unaffectionately, as Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but cantankerous leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes and who frequently find themselves blundering around the smoke and mirrors of the espionage world. Season six sees the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them all in a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge.
The ensemble cast includes Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmy Award nominee Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, BAFTA TV Award nominee Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Rosalind Eleazar, Joanna Scanlan, BAFTA Award nominee Samuel West, Ruth Bradley, Tom Brooke, Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce and Hugo Weaving, alongside new addition, BAFTA TV Award winner Lenny Rush. Additionally, Olivia Cooke will reprise her role as Sidonie “Sid” Baker in the sixth season.
“Slow Horses” has been celebrated as “undoubtedly the best spy series on television,” a “truly epic espionage thriller” that is “utterly brilliant” and just “so damn good.” All five seasons of “Slow Horses” hold a Certified Fresh score, with two seasons receiving a rare, perfect 100 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the series continues to receive global accolades from critics and fans alike. The fifth season earned nine Primetime Emmy Awards, including a nod for Outstanding Drama Series, and nominations for Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actor, respectively.
The series is produced for Apple TV by See-Saw Films, with Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Julian Stevens, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Adam Randall, Gail Mutrux, Douglas Urbanski and Oldman serving as executive producers. Season six is adapted for television by co-executive producer Gaby Chiappe, with Randall returning to direct.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 913 wins and 3,827 award nominations and counting including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” global cultural phenomenon “Severance,” Apple’s most-viewed drama “Pluribus,” Academy Award Best Picture winner “CODA” and Academy Award winner “F1,” the highest-grossing sports feature of all time.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple’s next foldable could be an ‘iPhone Duo Max’ with larger displays
Apple may not stop at one book-style foldable. According to Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman, the company already has room in its naming system — and its product roadmap — for a larger follow-on model that he calls an iPhone Duo Max.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman wrote that Apple chose the three-letter “Duo” suffix in part because it lines up with names such as Air and Pro and leaves space for extra labels that a name like “Ultra” would have blocked. That, he said, makes a future Duo Max a natural next step: a bigger-display version of the book-style foldable, with additional variants such as a lower-cost Duo SE or a smaller Duo mini also possible.
Gurman’s point is less about a single flagship and more about a family. He argued that Apple is unlikely to treat the first foldable as a one-off experiment. Instead, he sees a lineup that could stretch across sizes and price points, much as Samsung has done with its Galaxy Z series — a large Max model, a cheaper stripped-down version, or even a clamshell-style mini.
The Max idea matters because of what Gurman thinks foldables are about to become. He expects the category to move from a niche — still only a sliver of global smartphone shipments — toward the majority of new phone sales within a decade, as people get used to carrying a larger screen that can stand in for a tablet or laptop for many tasks. A larger Duo Max would be the most direct expression of that bet: more canvas for video, gaming, side-by-side apps, and stylus work, without abandoning the pocketable fold.
Price is still the issue. Gurman has been clear that the first book-style iPhone starts at $1,999, more than two conventional iPhones, and that this will slow the shift even if the hardware and software are strong. He expects that barrier to ease over time as component costs fall and leasing becomes a bigger part of how Apple sells high-end devices. A Max model would almost certainly sit at the top of that pricing ladder; a future SE or Mini would be how Apple tries to pull the format down-market.
Gurman framed the Duo Max as a foreseeable product, not an imminent one, and tied it to the same logic that produced “Duo” in the first place: a short name that can grow. If he is right, the first foldable iPhone is not the end of Apple’s foldable plan. It is the base of a stack, and the Max is the model meant to make the larger screen the default.
MacDailyNews Take: If a Duo Max were available today alongside the iPhone Duo, we’d choose the Max every time – same as we’ve always done with iPhone Pro Max.
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Apple working on first-party game controllers, likely under Beats brand
Apple has spent more than a year developing its own game controllers and is likely to sell them under the Beats name rather than its main brand, according to Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman.
The project is being led by Beats executives on both product conception and engineering, Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter. Apple sees dedicated controllers as a growing market and wants a piece of it, after years of selling third-party options such as Backbone and SteelSeries devices through its own channels.
The effort follows code references that surfaced earlier this month in a macOS beta, pointing to two unreleased first-party controllers identified as T6502 and T1057. Those listings described conventional gamepad hardware, including a D-pad, dual analog thumbsticks, face buttons, shoulder buttons, analog triggers, and haptic motors. One model appears wired; the other is described as adding Bluetooth, motion sensors, and richer haptic feedback.
Gurman said the Beats label is a strategic fit. Apple has already used the subsidiary — acquired in 2014 — for iPhone cases, USB-C cables, and other accessories that sit below the materials, finishes, and prices associated with the Apple brand. A controller aimed at a broad audience would need to stay relatively affordable, which argues against the premium approach typical of Apple-branded hardware. The culture around gaming accessories also aligns more naturally with Beats than with Apple’s core lineup, he wrote.
No pricing, design details, or launch window have been disclosed. Existing Made for iPhone controllers and console pads from PlayStation and Xbox already work with Apple devices; a first-party option could still tighten the company’s grip on mobile and Apple TV gaming as more demanding titles arrive on iOS and Mac.
MacDailyNews Take:
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Always-listening Apple Watch AI could test eavesdropping laws
Apple’s newest Apple Watch features are designed to remember conversations so users don’t have to. Legal experts say they may also test wiretap statutes that were written long before a wristwatch could quietly turn speech into text.
The tools arrived with the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. Siri Recap produces summaries of conversations a wearer had during the day. Live Rewind, triggered by a double-press of the Digital Crown, shows a transcript of the previous 15 seconds. Apple markets both as memory aids, not as recording devices.
That distinction is the heart of the dispute. According to reporting by Bloomberg News’ Natalie Lung, attorneys in all-party-consent states — including California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington — are not convinced that on-device processing and the absence of a saved audio file will keep users clear of eavesdropping and wiretap laws. Those statutes generally require everyone in a private conversation to agree before it is intercepted.
Apple has built in several safeguards. Live Rewind plays an audible alert, shows a full-screen animation and microphone indicator, and processes audio on secure hardware that Apple says is inaccessible to the operating system, apps, the user or the company. The company says no audio recording is created or stored. Transcripts vanish about 30 seconds after the display dims unless saved in the Siri app. Recap summaries are deleted after seven days unless a user keeps them. Users can turn the features off or restrict them by time or place. Apple also says summaries do not attach comments to named people and may omit financial details, personal identifiers and authentication data.
Experts quoted in Lung’s reporting still see legal risk. Subodh Chandra of Chandra Law Firm said the feature set “raises serious concerns under California law and the laws of other states that require all-party consent.” Boston criminal defense attorney Joe Simons called it a likely “case of first impression” in Massachusetts. Pennsylvania defense lawyer Phil Lauer said the technology is “very close to being legal” because a person is not sitting on the other end of the feed — but that courts could still treat the watch’s capture and interpretation of speech as unlawful interception. Seattle attorney Mark Blair argued that fleeting processing may not matter: if consent is missing, the wearer could face criminal exposure even after the text disappears.
Colin Zick of Foley Hoag advised users to treat the tools as they would a wiretap and ask permission first. Adam Schwartz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said bystanders have little practical way to consent or refuse, and called always-on monitoring of conversations “an unacceptable burden on our conversational privacy.” Former Apple employee Todd Dailey wrote that lawyers “will have some long nights ahead,” arguing Recap-style capability existed before but is now harder to detect.
Apple rejected the idea that the features record conversations. It noted that people already take notes with phones and wearables, said the 15-second Live Rewind window encourages responsible use near a speaker, and pointed out there is no audio file to share or produce. Company guidance still tells users to “consider” people around them when conversations might be private or sensitive. Unlike Live Rewind, Siri Recap has no continuous on-wrist indicator while it listens through the day.
The debate sits in a broader push toward ambient AI — smart glasses, always-available assistants, gadgets that sit in the room rather than wait for a button press. Dedicated recorders from companies such as Plaud and Pocket typically start only when activated. Apple’s watches, by design, must be listening first if they are going to rewind or recap later. Whether courts treat that as note-taking or interception is unsettled. Until it is, the legal risk may fall less on Cupertino than on the person wearing the watch.
MacDailyNews Take: Surely Apple’s legal team has vetted these features before release, but we’ll see what happens with the perpetually aggrieved their overly litigious ambulance chasers.
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Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo shows the upside of waiting
Apple arrived slightly late to foldable phones. As per Bloomberg Tech, that delay looks less like a miss and more like a choice.
In a segment titled “Apple’s Foldable iPhone Duo Shows the Upside of Waiting,” Bloomberg News’ Chris Welch walks through an early look at the $1,999 iPhone Duo and argues that Apple’s first foldable already raises the bar rivals spent years chasing. He joins Ed Ludlow to talk hinge, display, and software — the three places earlier foldables most often felt unfinished.
The Duo folds a 7.6-inch inner display into a 5.4-inch cover screen and a passport-like closed shape. Apple priced the 256GB model just under $2,000, with higher storage climbing toward $3,000.
Preorders start October 16; the phone goes on sale October 23. It uses the same A20 Pro chip as the new slab iPhones, carries an IP68 rating, and supports a later Apple Pencil software update.
Watch the video via Bloomberg here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yup.
If and when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, they’ll be showing the world how it should be done and what to copy going forward. As usual. — MacDailyNews, February 27, 2019
As with fingerprint and facial recognition, when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, then foldable smartphones will have been done right. — MacDailyNews, January 17, 2019
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Can Apple parlay Siân Heder’s latest Oscar bait, ‘Being Heumann,’ into another Best Picture win?
Four years after “CODA” delivered Apple Original Films its first Best Picture Oscar, Siân Heder is back in the awards conversation. Her new film, “Being Heumann,” opened the Toronto International Film Festival with a story that looks purpose-built for the Academy: a real-life civil-rights struggle, a largely disabled cast, and the same director who last turned inclusion into both a cultural moment and a trophy.
The movie follows Judy Heumann, the late activist often called the mother of the disability-rights movement, as she leads a group of disabled protesters in the 1977 occupation of a San Francisco federal building. The sit-in lasted 26 days and pressured then-Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano Jr. to sign regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Heder has described Heumann’s work as making “invisible people visible” and forcing “the hard change of inclusion.”
That framing is familiar. “CODA” was a coming-of-age story about a hearing daughter in a deaf family; it won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Heder. Apple is repeating the playbook: a prestige festival launch, a limited theatrical window, then a swift move to Apple TV a week later.
The talent package is equally awards-ready. British actor Ruth Madeley plays Heumann. Mark Ruffalo plays Califano. Daniel Durant, who earned notice in CODA, returned to work with Heder. Most of the cast are disabled actors — an authenticity argument that studios now treat as both moral and strategic. Madeley has said the film tries to show Heumann’s humor and joy, not only her ferocity.
Whether “Being Heumann” is “Oscar bait” is a matter of tone, not facts. The film has the ingredients the Academy has rewarded: a historical injustice, underrepresented performers, a director with recent hardware, and a streamer that already proved it can campaign a mid-budget drama all the way to Best Picture.
Of course, “Oscar bait” is a loaded label that implies the movie was assembled to win prizes rather than because the story mattered. That judgment is about tone — cynicism versus generosity. One person looks at the same facts and says “this is a serious film about an overlooked chapter of history.” Another looks at them and says “this is a prestige package built for awards show voters.”
Apple does not need another trophy to justify the project. It would be nice if the film looks like more than just a prestige checklist.
The 1977 sit-in is a genuine piece of American history that still sits outside most popular memory. If “Being Heumann” makes that story land with audiences — and if Heder again finds the human texture that made “CODA” more than a message movie — Apple will have a real contender. If it plays as solemn, worthy, and slightly engineered, it will still get nominations and still stream. The question is whether the company can turn another Heder film into the same kind of industry event it pulled off in 2022.
MacDailyNews Take: Toronto was the first test. November theatrical and the Apple TV rollout will be the next. Awards season will decide whether this is another “CODA” or not.
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The internet’s favorite cat comes to Apple Arcade with ‘Pusheen’s Place’
On October 1st, Apple Arcade is rolling out a lineup of fun new games for players of every style, from cozy cat collecting to zombie-blasting mayhem to beloved App Store hits. Whether players want to unwind in Pusheen’s Place, dive into the adrenaline-pumping chaos of River City Survivors, or revisit App Store favorites like Terraria+, Touchgrind BMX 2+, and 4 Pics 1 Word+, there’s plenty to discover, download, and play.
Pusheen’s Place is the first officially licensed game starring Pusheen the Cat, the global icon of cuteness and whimsy. Available exclusively on Apple Arcade, the game lets players build a cozy Pusheen paradise and collect more than 100 adorable kitties. They can play, craft, and decorate dreamy rooms for popular characters like Pusheenicorn and Pancake Pusheen. Then, for an extra dose of fun, unwind with sweet mini-games like Snack Stack, Parfait Pop, and Batch Match. This game adds to Arcade’s thriving catalog of cozy games, joining fan favorites like Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom, and Cozy Caravan.
From the long-running River City series comes River City Survivors, an explosive survivors-like action game that throws players into wave after wave of zombie chaos. Blast through hordes, unleash flashy special moves, and grab randomized upgrades to build an unstoppable run every time. Players can choose from more than 20 playable characters, including franchise icons Kunio and Riki, and recruit up to two companions to build their dream team.
And the hits keep coming, with three beloved App Store favorites also joining the service on October 1, completely free of ads and in-app purchases. Terraria+ is a sandbox action-adventure where players fight, explore, and build their way through an ever-expanding world. This version includes the Bigger & Boulder update 1.4.5, which brings a Dead Cells crossover, iconic Pals from Palworld, and much more to discover. Players can also join forces with up to seven friends via Game Center or local Wi-Fi and explore more than 20 biomes in a boundless adventure of survival, discovery, and creativity.
Terraria+ developed by 505 Games.
Rounding out the trio are Touchgrind BMX 2+, a physics-driven BMX stunt game with unique two-finger controls that make every trick feel real, and 4 Pics 1 Word+, the Arcade edition of the popular puzzle game that’s stumped and delighted more than 400 million players worldwide.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple Arcade is available for US$6.99 per month with a one-month free trial. Customers who purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV receive three months of Apple Arcade for free. Apple Arcade is part of Apple One’s Individual ($21.95), Family ($27.95), and Premier ($39.95) plans, with a one-month free trial. Arcade Originals are playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. App Store Greats are available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. An Apple Arcade subscription gives a family of up to six unlimited access to all the games in its catalog.
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Half-fold Apple’s iPhone Duo once and you’ll start asking for an iPad Duo
Apple finally shipped a foldable phone, and the most interesting thing about it is not the hinge. It is what happens when you stop treating the iPhone Duo like a book and start treating it like a laptop.
Bend the device partway, rest the bottom half on a table, and iOS 27 splits the 7.6-inch inner display into two jobs. The top half becomes a landscape screen for the app, document, or video you are actually using. The bottom half turns into a touch keyboard and control deck. That is the mode that makes the $1,999 iPhone Duo feel less like a foldable smrtphone and more like a pocket computer.
Apple has spent years insisting that foldables should not feel like two phones glued together. The Duo is its answer: a passport-shaped handset with a 5.4-inch outer display that opens into a 7.6-inch inner panel, both sharing the same 1:1.4 aspect ratio so content does not warp when you unfold it. The software is the real product. iOS 27 watches the hinge, not just the open/closed state. Content slides away from the crease. Speakers retune as the halves move. And the keyboard follows the posture of your hands.
The laptop pose is the feature people will actually use
Apple and reviewers keep circling the same demo. Set the Duo down half-open, like a tiny clamshell. Video, Mail, Notes, or Safari stay on the upper pane. Playback controls and a full or split on-screen keyboard occupy the lower pane. Slightly more fold and the keyboard splits left and right, so thumbs can type while you hold the device like a book. No settings menu. The crease becomes the dividing line.
That is why the Duo suddenly looks like an argument for a larger sibling. A 7.6-inch inner screen is close to an iPad mini, which is enough for email, messages, and a movie on a tray table. It is not enough for a spreadsheet, a long draft, or two serious windows without feeling cramped. Once you have tasted laptop posture on a phone, a 12- or 13-inch foldable iPad that does the same thing stops sounding like a rumor and starts sounding like the obvious next product.
Apple already designed the Duo to feel “as natural and intuitive as iPad.” Split View finally arrives on iPhone. You can park two apps side by side, or two windows of the same app. Saved app pairs come back later. Controls migrate to the vertical edge so the content column stays tall. StandBy works without a charger: tent the phone on a nightstand and it becomes a clock, photo frame, or widget slab. Those are iPad ideas squeezed into a pocket. They work. They also expose the size ceiling.
Why a foldable iPad now feels inevitable
A foldable iPad has been in the rumor mill for years: first as a ~20-inch board that folds to something closer to a 13-inch slate, later as a delayed 2028 or 2029 project after cost and weight problems. The Duo changes the brief. Apple no longer has to invent hinge software from scratch. It already has angle-aware layouts, a crease-aware keyboard, tent mode, table-top sensors in each half, and developer APIs for reserved fold regions. Scaling that system to a tablet is relatively easy.
Imagine the same half-fold grammar on a larger canvas. Top half: a proper landscape document, timeline, or browser. Bottom half: a real-size software keyboard, or a trackpad zone, or a palette of tools. Apple Pencil on the Duo already hints at the tablet version of that idea. On a phone, Pencil is a nice extra. On a foldable iPad, it is the point: sketch on the upper pane, keep reference material or a keyboard on the lower one, then flatten the device into a single drawing board.
The Duo also proves Apple will move iOS elements when the hardware demands it. Dock and navigation sit on the side. The status bar collapses into a corner puck. Dynamic Island runs vertically. Third-party apps that are not ready get a safe area; apps built for iOS 27.1 can use the full inner panel. That same discipline would make a foldable iPad less of a novelty and more of a second computer.
The iPhone Duo makes an iPad Duo feel necessary rather than greedy. The phone version is a proof of concept. It shows that Apple can make a hinge feel like an input device: slightly open for thumb typing, tented for widgets, laptop-angled for media and mail. The missing piece is area. Give that same software a screen that can hold a full page of text above a usable keyboard, and the “pocket laptop” pitch stops being a clever demo and becomes a category.
Apple did not announce an iPad Duo this week. It did something more useful. It shipped the interaction model first, on the device people actually carry every day. After a few weeks of using the Duo half-folded on a café table, a lot of people will not want a bigger phone. They will want the same trick, at iPad scale.
MacDailyNews Take: An iPad Duo that folds into a laptop pose would steal the exact jobs for which a lot of people already use a MacBook Neo or even MacBook Air: email, docs, browsing, video, light travel work. The iPhone Duo already shows the posture: screen on top, keyboard/controls below. Scale that to iPad size and the “why did I bring a laptop?” question gets louder.
An iPad Duo would not wipe out MacBooks, for the same reasons the iPad Pro never did:
• Software ceiling. iPadOS is still app-and-touch first. Serious windowing, files, terminals, IDEs, and pro apps still live more comfortably on macOS.
• Input. A software keyboard on glass is fine in a pinch. All-day typing still favors a real keyboard and trackpad. People who need that will keep buying Airs and Pros.
• Apple’s own mix. Apple has long accepted overlap: iPad Pro vs. MacBook Air, iPhone vs. iPad mini. A foldable tablet would shift the mix, not collapse it. Some MacBook Neo and Air buyers become Duo buyers; some Duo buyers still want a Mac at the desk or on the go.
Net effect of an iPad Duo: partial cannibalization of entry-level MacBook sales, plus some new demand from people who would never haul a laptop, but would fold a tablet. The Macs most at risk would be mostly MacBook Neo with some MacBook Air.
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