Apple spent the entirety of its WWDC26 keynote responding to external pressures, including user complaints about Liquid Glass, community and regulatory worries regarding child safety, and the embarrassment of Siri delays and Apple Intelligence weaknesses.
Apple’s OS 26.4 updates add Apple Intelligence-generated playlists in Apple Music, image creation and editing tools in Freeform, easier marking of Reminders as urgent, and independent payment methods for adult members of Family Sharing groups. Oh, and eight new emoji you didn’t know how you were living without.
Jason Snell’s annual Apple Report Card shows Hardware Reliability topping the list again, but the controversial Liquid Glass design dragged software scores to new lows, and Tim Cook’s relationship with the Trump administration caused Apple’s Impact on the World category to crater.
Don’t expect new features in Apple’s OS 26.3 updates, but be sure to install them soon. They patch dozens of security vulnerabilities and address an actively exploited flaw Apple says was used in sophisticated spyware attacks.
Apple’s latest updates for older operating systems extend certificates so iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation continue to work after January 2027. Meanwhile, iOS 16.7.14 may address a Telstra network issue affecting older iPhones in Australia.
The new AirTag needs new software—no surprise there. More interesting are the updates Apple pushed to iOS versions dating back to iOS 12, extending certificates that would otherwise expire in January 2027.
Apple’s second-generation AirTag arrives with a new Ultra Wideband chip that extends Precision Finding range by 50%, a speaker that’s 50% louder, and Precision Finding support on the Apple Watch Series 9 or later.
Adam Engst walks you through Apple’s OS 26.2 updates, highlighting new alarms in Reminders, auto-generated chapters in Podcasts, Enhanced Safety Alerts, and Edge Light for Mac video calls—along with urgent fixes for two actively exploited WebKit vulnerabilities.
Apple explains how it 3D‑prints Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 cases using recycled titanium powder and multi‑laser systems, saying it uses 50% less raw material and will save more than 400 metric tons of titanium in 2025.
The Apple–Masimo fight over watch‑based blood‑oxygen monitoring has escalated with a $634 million jury award and a fresh ITC review of Apple’s workaround.
Update to OS 26.1 for incremental improvements and security fixes across Apple’s platforms. Highlights include Tinted Liquid Glass, AutoMix over AirPlay, Slide Over’s return to iPadOS, and dozens of patched vulnerabilities.
Apple’s new Liquid Glass interface design can be hard to read in certain situations. If you encounter any issues, here’s how to adjust the transparency and other visual effects across macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS to suit your needs.
Apple has rolled out a series of updates across its operating systems to fix initial bugs, including installation issues on the M3 Ultra Mac Studio, iPhone networking and photo problems, and audio sync issues in tvOS. Many of the updates also address a FontParser security vulnerability.
After analyzing macOS release patterns over the past two years, Howard Oakley provides a calendar showing when we can expect macOS 26 Tahoe updates throughout the upcoming year.
Apple has released the first versions of its 2026 operating systems—macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, tvOS 26, and HomePod Software 26. You might want to upgrade right away, but Adam Engst advises most people to wait at least a little while. Or even longer for macOS.