MacRumors

Apple is raising its prices to offset the high cost of memory and storage, CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal. Apple is no longer able to absorb the increased prices and will need to pass some of the cost on to consumers.

"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," said Cook. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."

Cook did not say which products will get price increases or how much pricing will go up. The iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max coming in September could be more expensive than the iPhone 17 Pro and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. Prices on iPads and Macs could go up in the near future.

Apple already raised the price of the Mac mini from $599 to $799 by eliminating its lowest-tier model. Apple has also eliminated several higher-tier ‌Mac mini‌ and Mac Studio options.

Growing demand for memory and storage chips from AI companies has led to chip shortages and higher costs. The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ suggests Apple will need to increase device costs "substantially" to maintain its current profit margins given the cost of memory chips and SSDs. Research firm TechInsights claims Apple will need to make the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ around $270 more expensive to keep its existing profit margin.

Apple is struggling more with memory chips, but storage chips are also an issue. "There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," Cook told The ‌Wall Street Journal‌. Cook said Apple will use its cash to increase memory supply, but he did not give details on what that means.

Apple does not plan to create its own memory and storage factories. "We can't do everything," Cook said. "We know what we're good at."

While memory chip makers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are increasing production capacity, much of that added capacity will prioritize server chips. Demand for consumer-device chips is expected to continue to outpace supply. At the same time, Apple needs to increase the DRAM in its devices to support new AI features. Cook likened the memory shortages to a hundred-year flood. "I've never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years," he said.

Apple is one of the largest purchasers of memory and storage worldwide, but it is likely reluctant to make the same deals AI companies do. Those deals involve signing multi-year agreements with a large cash prepayment.

Multiple companies have already raised their prices, including Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, and Dell.

Like iOS 27, iPadOS 27 gains a smarter, more capable version of Siri, the ‌Siri‌ app, and new Apple Intelligence features in apps, but there are a few iPad-only standouts.

‌Siri‌ AI on iPad has all of the same features as ‌Siri‌ AI on the iPhone, so it can access your personal data, search the web for answers, complete tasks in apps, and answer questions about what's on your screen. For people who write with Apple Pencil on ‌iPad‌, it can index your handwritten notes so you can search through them. You can use ‌Siri‌ to take action on your notes, whether typed or handwritten.

‌Siri‌ can summarize, rewrite, give you writing advice, check grammar, generate new text for you, and more. There's a systemwide Write with ‌Siri‌ feature for getting help no matter which app you're using.

There's a new Image Playground app that can generate images in any style, including photorealistic, and that powers the Image Wand in the Notes app. You can draw a quick sketch of something in Notes and then use ‌Image Wand‌ to turn it into a photorealistic visual aid.

Visual Intelligence used to be an iPhone-only feature, but in ‌iPadOS 27‌, it's expanding to the ‌iPad‌. You can take a screenshot and then circle what you want to know more about with a finger or the ‌Apple Pencil‌. The ‌iPad‌ supports the same ‌Visual Intelligence‌ features, like telling you the nutritional value of food and identifying plants and animals.

The Shortcuts app can use AI to automatically generate shortcuts for you, which can be especially useful on the ‌iPad‌. If you want a quick way to change how the ‌iPad‌'s windowing works when you attach a keyboard vs. when you use it without a keyboard, you can describe that in a sentence or two and get a functional shortcut just a minute later.

Safari supports automatically grouping tabs, plus there's an AI feature for generating your own extensions. Like ‌iOS 27‌, ‌iPadOS 27‌ is also more responsive thanks to performance improvements. Browsing and transferring files are quicker, AirDrop is faster, apps launch more quickly, and multitasking on ‌iPad‌ is faster.

There's a Liquid Glass slider for adjusting opacity to your taste, and Apple also made other Liquid Glass improvements to boost readability. You can also resize iPhone apps that are running on the ‌iPad‌.

‌Siri‌ AI and ‌Apple Intelligence‌ in ‌iPadOS 27‌ require an ‌iPad‌ with an M-series chip or the A17 Pro iPad mini. EU users won't get ‌Siri‌ AI on ‌iPad‌ when ‌iPadOS 27‌ launches, and it's also not available in China.

Older iPads won't get ‌Siri‌ AI or ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features, but they will get the performance improvements Apple added. Older iPads will feel faster on ‌iPadOS 27‌ than they do in iPadOS 26.

Apple is working on a new iPhone Air that's expected to launch in spring 2027, reports Bloomberg. The updated ‌iPhone Air‌ could get an Ultra Wide lens in addition to the Wide lens to make it a better value for the money.

An ‌iPhone Air‌ with two camera lenses has reached the advanced testing phase. The device has the same design as the current model with the exception of the extra lens.

Apple also wants to improve battery life, either through an increased battery size or improvements to efficiency. Given that the design of the new model is similar to the current design, there may not be room for a larger battery. The device will use an A20 chip built on Apple's new 2nm process, so it could feature better efficiency.

Multiple prior rumors have suggested Apple is adding a second camera to the ‌iPhone Air‌ to address the main customer complaint about the device. The current model has a single rear lens with a Wide lens, which makes it inferior to the more affordable iPhone 17 in terms of camera quality. The ‌iPhone 17‌ has a two-camera setup, while the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have three cameras.

The next ‌iPhone Air‌ will come out alongside the iPhone 18 in 2027, with the iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and foldable iPhone set to debut in September.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance that includes Apple today announced the latest version of Matter, Matter 1.6. The update focuses on improved device setup, better coordinated device management, and response to control inputs.

Matter 1.6 includes NFC-Based Commissioning for setting up light bulbs in ceiling fixtures, in-wall switches, and other products that need to be configured prior to installation. It allows for setup before the device is fully powered, and it serves as an alternative to Bluetooth LE setup. Users will just need to hold a smartphone near a device to commission it.

For multi-ecosystem device sharing, Matter 1.6 supports "Joint Fabric" as a new approach that expands the Enhanced Multi-Admin toolkit. Joint Fabric lets multiple user-authorized controllers co-administer a single shared Matter network. Any device added to the Joint Fabric is accessible to all participating controllers, which makes it simpler for Android and iOS users in a household to access and control Matter-enabled devices. Matter smart home products can be controlled from any interface or ecosystem without requiring a separate setup of every device for each platform.

Thermostat Suggestions improve how thermostats account for user inputs and preferences. Controllers won't send direct commands to change temperature or mode, but will instead submit a time-bound suggestion tied to the thermostat's supported presets so the thermostat can react based on preferences and environmental conditions. The CSA says the new feature will be helpful in the following situations:

• A user enrolled in a utility demand-response program can configure the thermostat to protect those commitments, preventing an automation from a different ecosystem from accidentally overriding a savings event.
• A user who has chosen to optimize for energy savings, or for humidity control, air quality, or another preference, can have the setting recognized and respected across connected services without needing to configure it in each one.
• A thermostat that was just manually adjusted, on the device or through one ecosystem, can recognize a suggestion arriving moments later from another source and will identify it is likely not what the user intended, and defer.

The update standardizes how devices communicate their capabilities and operational limits, and CO and smoke alarms are now able to indicate when they have been removed from their installed position. Security sensors are also able to interoperably indicate a sensor event history, so ecosystems have access to real-time status and past activity.

Matter 1.6 is available for device makers and platforms to integrate into their products. Apple so far has not been quick to implement new Matter specifications. Matter 1.4 was announced back in November 2024, but Apple Home doesn't support all of the Matter 1.4 features.

In tvOS 27, Apple implemented support for Thread 1.4, improving Matter-over-Thread connectivity. Thread credential sharing allows smart home devices to join existing Thread networks for a true mesh network instead of separate, parallel networks across Thread Border Routers from different manufacturers.

If you have not been paying close attention, you might still think that you need to be enrolled in the Apple Developer Program for $99 per year to install iOS developer betas, but that has not been the case for a few years now. In fact, anyone can install the iOS 27 developer beta on their iPhone for free, and the process is quite easy.

Even if you are not an app developer and have no current plans to release apps on the App Store, you can still install the iOS 27 developer beta on your iPhone. If you feel more comfortable with waiting for the iOS 27 public beta, though, Apple said that the first public beta of iOS 27 will be available at some point in July.

Warning: While the first iOS 27 developer beta is considered to be relatively stable, iOS betas can and do have bugs and performance issues. You may not be able to use some apps that you rely on, and issues can extend to CarPlay. Backing up your iPhone before installing beta software is highly recommended, and relying on a secondary iPhone altogether is always a good idea if possible.

How to Install the iOS 27 Developer Beta

• Sign into your Apple Account from this page and accept the Apple Developer Agreement to become a registered Apple developer for free.
• Open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update → Beta Updates.
• Select the iOS 27 Developer Beta option (restart your iPhone if you don't see it) and follow the on-screen steps.

How to Install the iOS 27 Public Beta (in July)

• Sign up at beta.apple.com for free.
• Open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update → Beta Updates.
• Select the iOS 27 Public Beta option (restart your iPhone if you don't see it) and follow the on-screen steps.

iOS 27 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer, but Apple Intelligence features like Siri AI are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and newer.

Keep in mind that the revamped version of Siri has a waitlist. To join the waitlist, open the Settings app on iOS 27 and tap on Siri and you will find it there. It can take anywhere from hours to many days to receive access to Siri AI and the Siri app.

The upcoming iOS 27 update that Apple unveiled last week includes some new features and enhancements for Apple's Notes app on the iPhone.

iOS 27 is currently available as a developer beta, with a public beta to follow in July. The update is expected to be released to all users in September.

Below, we have outlined four additions to Apple's Notes app on iOS 27.

Siri AI

On the iPhone 15 Pro and newer, the more intelligent and personal version of Siri known as "Siri AI" can create notes with generated content. For example, you can ask Siri AI to create a note with a list of all iPhone models that are compatible with iOS 27, and it will do so after retrieving this information from the internet.

On iOS 26 and earlier, Siri can only create notes based on the words you actually say.

In addition, Siri AI will intelligently show an "Add to Notes" shortcut below certain messages in the Messages app based on the context of the conversation.

Copy and Paste in Markdown

iOS 27 introduces the ability to copy and paste text that is formatted in the Markdown language, created by well-known Apple commentator John Gruber.

Markdown lets you add formatting to text without using HTML:

• Bold text: **bold**
• Italic text: *italic*
• Linked text: [Apple](https://apple.com)
• List item: - Example

For example, if you paste "Apple's next CEO is **John Ternus**" into the Notes app on iOS 27, "John Ternus" will appear in bold text.

In reverse, if you select formatted text in the Notes app and tap on the right arrow in the Cut/Copy/Paste menu that pops open, there is a new "Copy as Markdown" option on iOS 27. If you tap on this option, any rich text formatting in your selection will automatically be converted to Markdown that can be pasted elsewhere.

Apple Notes already gained support for importing and exporting Markdown files on iOS 26.

Divider Lines

iOS 27 lets you organize notes with divider lines. Simply place the text cursor where you want the line to be inserted, tap on the right arrow in the Cut/Copy/Paste menu that pops open, and tap on the new "Insert Divider Line" option.

Section Links

You can now add a link to a specific section of a note. When you tap on the link, the Notes app automatically jumps to that section of text.

For example, you could create a new note that links back to a section of a previous note.

Microsoft engineers have published benchmark results showing that a Chromium-based browser using its own rendering engine scores 28.6% higher than Safari on Apple's own Speedometer 3.1 performance test on iOS.

Kyle Pflug, group product manager for the Microsoft Edge Web Platform, published results on Monday comparing a research prototype of Edge built with Apple's BrowserEngineKit framework against Safari running iOS 26.5.1. The Blink-based prototype scored 49.27 versus Safari's 38.3 on Speedometer 3.1, and also outperformed Safari on the JetStream 3 JavaScript benchmark by 13.1% (306.35 vs. 270.9) and on the MotionMark 1.3.1 graphics rendering benchmark by 2.1% (4,773.52 vs. 4,673.68). Pflug described the work as a research prototype rather than a finished product, and the numbers as preliminary results from his own device rather than lab conditions.

Apple requires all browsers on iOS to use WebKit, the engine that powers Safari, meaning browsers like Chrome and Firefox on iPhone are effectively reskinned Safari instances. The EU's Digital Markets Act theoretically changed that in March 2024, requiring Apple to allow alternative browser engines through BrowserEngineKit, yet more than two years later no browser maker has shipped an alternative engine on iOS. Companies cite technical barriers and the requirement to publish any such browser as an entirely separate app from their existing WebKit-based version.

Open Web Advocacy told The Register the results illustrate a 17-year cost to consumers. The group called on the European Commission to open a specification proceeding instructing Apple precisely how it must remove barriers to alternative engines, adding that restricting browser engines allows Apple to limit what the mobile web is capable of and keep businesses dependent on native apps and App Store rules.

Amazon this week is discounting a collection of Beats headphones and speakers ahead of Prime Day, including a low price on the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can get this new 2025 model for $199.95 in all four colors, down from $249.99. This deal on the Powerbeats Pro 2 is being matched at Best Buy, along with a few other Beats deals.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This sale also includes discounts on products like the Beats Pill, which has hit $99.95 on Amazon, down from $149.95. This is an all-time low price on the speaker.

Additionally, Amazon has the Beats Studio Buds+ for $99.95, down from $169.95. These have up to 9 hours of playback (up to 36 hours with charging case), USB-C, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance.

You'll also find a few steep discounts on over-ear headphones, like the Beats Studio Pro at $169.95, down from $349.99, and some markdowns on Beats iPhone 17 cases.

• Beats Studio Buds+ - $99.95, down from $169.95
• Beats Pill - $99.95, down from $149.95
• Beats Solo 4 - $129.95, down from $199.95
• Beats Studio Pro - $169.95, down from $349.99
• Powerbeats Pro 2 - $199.95, down from $249.99
• Beats USB-A to USB-C Woven Cable - $5.00, down from $18.99
• Beats iPhone 17 Case - $18.99, down from $45.00
• Beats iPhone 17 Pro Rugged Case - $30.50, down from $79.00
• Beats iPhone 17 Pro Max Case - $28.50, down from $45.00

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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Apple's decision to move Hide My Email to a dedicated "private.icloud.com" domain appears to have the consequence of making it easier for platforms that want to block iCloud aliases to do so.

Apple is unifying the email domains used by Sign in with Apple and ‌iCloud‌+ Hide My Email under a single private.icloud.com domain later this summer. Sign in with Apple currently uses privaterelay.appleid.com, while Hide My Email uses icloud.com, the same domain as standard ‌iCloud‌ email addresses.

That shared domain has historically made it difficult for services to selectively block disposable ‌iCloud‌ addresses. Blocking icloud.com outright would also block legitimate users with standard Apple email accounts. With the new subdomain, that tradeoff disappears.

@vxdb on X was among the first to flag the implication: "platforms who want to ban ‌iCloud‌ aliases can now do so by banning this new subdomain without affecting all ‌iCloud‌ users." Others online noted that email services, signup flows, and anti-abuse systems will now have a clean, unambiguous target if they choose to restrict alias-generated addresses.

Apple has said that existing addresses on legacy domains will continue to work and that mail will be forwarded with no interruption, so current Hide My Email users won't lose access to their aliases. New addresses generated after the migration, however, will feature the private.icloud.com domain, and it is those addresses that become blockable in isolation for the first time.

Amazon today has the AirPods Pro 3 available for $169.00 in an early Prime Day sale, down from $249.00. This is a new all-time low price on the AirPods Pro 3, beating the previous low by $10.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

This model of the AirPods Pro launched in September 2025 and has 2x better Active Noise Cancellation than the previous generation, better audio quality, a revised fit that's meant to improve comfort and stability, Live Translation for in-person conversations, and heart rate sensing for workouts.

Shoppers should note that this price has been heavily fluctuating on Amazon today, so if you don't see it when you click, there is a chance that it will return soon.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

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macOS 27 Golden Gate removes AFP support, ending Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule after nearly two decades, but a community project from a Microsoft engineer offers a potential workaround for owners not yet ready to move on.

Apple's Time Capsule was introduced at Macworld Expo in January 2008, combining a Wi-Fi router with NAS-style network storage designed to work in tandem with the Time Machine backup software. Apple officially ended development on the entire AirPort line in April 2018, with the AirPort Express at $99, the AirPort Extreme at $199, and the AirPort Time Capsule at $299, available only while supplies lasted. The lineup sold out entirely by November 2018. Prior to that, Apple had not updated its AirPort products since 2013.

AFP dates back to 1988, when Apple designed a native file-sharing protocol for the Macintosh as part of the AppleTalk networking suite. SMB became the primary file-sharing protocol in OS X 10.9 Mavericks in 2013, and the ability to run an AFP server was removed in macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020.

Apple formally deprecated the AFP client in macOS Sequoia 15.5, and, when macOS 26 Tahoe launched, a warning in System Settings confirmed that AFP support and Time Capsule compatibility would end with macOS 27. As expected, the first developer beta of macOS 27 Golden Gate contains no AFP client at all, ending a protocol with more than 40 years of history in the Apple ecosystem.

All Time Capsule models rely on AFP and SMBv1, the original Server Message Block version from 1987. From macOS 27 onwards, Time Machine requires SMBv2 or SMBv3, which covers modern NAS hardware but rules out every Time Capsule model in its stock form. macOS 27 also enforces stricter network security requirements, including TLS 1.2 as a minimum, which is a bar that Time Capsule hardware cannot meet.

The community response is a GitHub project called TimeCapsuleSMB, created by James Chang, an engineer at Microsoft. Rather than replacing Apple's firmware, it installs a modern Samba build directly onto the Time Capsule. The device runs a Samba 4.24.3 server, advertises itself over Bonjour, and accepts authenticated SMB3 connections, so users can connect via a standard SMB URL in Finder rather than relying on Apple's legacy stack.

Only the fifth-generation Time Capsule tower model from 2013 auto-restarts the Samba server after a reboot. Earlier models require a manual activate command every time the device loses power, meaning backups may silently stop after an outage. It is also worth noting that switching to SMB via TimeCapsuleSMB begins a new Time Machine backup chain, with the new destination treated as a fresh start. There is no published long-term restore testing for the project, so a second backup destination is advisable.

macOS 27 Golden Gate is currently in developer beta, with a public beta due in July and a general release set for September. It is compatible only with Apple silicon Macs, meaning Intel Mac users who stay on macOS 26 can continue using Time Capsule for the foreseeable future. Apple silicon owners who want to upgrade will need a compliant backup target in place first, whether that is a modern NAS, an external drive, or a patched Time Capsule running TimeCapsuleSMB.

Last week, Apple introduced a new discovery feature for the App Store called Personalized Collections, or app recommendations based on individual interests and behavior. Apple pitched the announcement as another way for developers to have their app discovered, but there has already been some pushback from a privacy perspective.

The new tailored recommendations can appear on the Apps, Games, and Search tabs, and evolve over time based on a user's app usage and downloads. How Apple does this is through analytics data, but the extent of the information being captured by the company has set off warning sirens amongst some cybersecurity researchers.

Security researchers Mysk say that Apple logs "every tap" in the App Store that a user inputs in order to put together the recommendations. Quoting from a post shared on X (Twitter):

"Now Apple is putting the extensive identifiable analytics they collect in the App Store in action. They record every tap and there's no way to turn it off. They can even calculate your typing speed."

The post was accompanied by the above screenshot. "This is what the App Store sends to Apple when I searched for 'Tim cook,'" said one of the researchers. Responding to a reply, Mysk noted that the screenshot wasn't showing search results, but extensive analytics. "If you don't like Apple Music privacy options, you can stream music from Spotify, but where else can you download apps on the iPhone?" they added.

Mysk said the analytics in the screenshot were included in the personal data dump that individual users can request from Apple via privacy.apple.com.

• Get a Copy of Your Apple Account Data – Here's How

Is capturing everything you do in the App Store app an intrusion of privacy? Opinions will differ. But there's an argument to be made for Personalized Collections to be opt-in, rather than the all-in feature Apple has rolled out. Let us know your opinions in the comments.

Apple has partnered up with Amazon to make Apple TV available at $5.99 per month for Prime members for a limited time.

Apple TV is available as an add-on subscription through Prime Video in the U.S. This promotional deal lets Prime members sign up to the streaming platform for over 50% off the usual $12.99/month price for up to two months, after which the standard price applies.

The promotion ends on June 26 though, so there are only a few days left to go before it's gone.

Subscribers will have access to Apple TV's full catalog of original content, including hit shows like "Severance," "Ted Lasso," and "The Morning Show," as well as films and live sports events.

Prime members can take advantage of the offer by following this link. Note that subscribers will need to be signed into their Amazon account for the link to work. Prime members can also find the promo deal via the Prime Video app.

WhatsApp is working on a way to let users send text messages that can only be viewed once, similar to the feature already available for photos, videos, and voice notes.

According to WABetaInfo, after typing a message in the chat bar, users will be able to select a new "Send as view once" option by long-pressing the Send button. When the message is sent, the recipient will be able to open the message once and read it before it disappears.

This means that the recipient will not be able to copy, forward, or share the message after receiving it. WhatsApp will also block screenshots and screen recordings to prevent the content from being preserved in any form.

The feature, which is still in development, is said to be coming to individual chats and groups, but it won't be available in channels, where ephemeral messages aren't suitable. WhatsApp is also developing the feature for Android phones.

WABetaInfo notes that the new feature will be welcomed by users who currently use a workaround by adding text to an image and sending it as view-once media.

The option follows another feature that appeared in beta a few weeks ago that causes disappearing messages to vanish based on a countdown that starts only after they've been read. The feature has yet to roll out more broadly.

Visual Intelligence is getting a big upgrade in iOS 27. It's now easier to find than it was before, and there are new ‌Visual Intelligence‌ capabilities. Apple also expanded it to the iPad and the Mac, so you can use the same features across devices.

Camera App

Apple moved ‌Visual Intelligence‌ to the Camera app in ‌iOS 27‌, and it's accessible through a new Siri Mode that lives with the Photo, Video, and other camera mode options. You can swipe over to ‌Siri‌ Mode and take a picture so ‌Siri‌ can see what you see.

‌Siri‌ will give you details about whatever you're looking at when you swipe down, and you can ask follow-up questions.

‌Siri‌ Mode replaces Camera Control as the primary method for accessing ‌Visual Intelligence‌, but you can still get to it by holding down the Camera Control button.

Smart Suggestions

‌Siri‌ Mode will suggest relevant actions based on what you're taking a photo of. If you take a photo of a plant, ‌Siri‌ will offer to identify it. If you take a photo of a plate of food, ‌Siri‌ can give you the nutritional information.

Siri Integration

‌Visual Intelligence‌ is integrated with ‌Siri‌ AI, and ‌Siri‌ can answer questions about what you're looking at. Complex questions were previously handed off to ChatGPT, but that's no longer necessary.

The smarter, more capable version of ‌Siri‌ can do much of what ChatGPT can do, pulling information from the web to answer questions.

New iOS 27 Visual Intelligence Features

• Nutritional Insights - You can take a picture of a meal or a food item to check its nutritional value. ‌Siri‌ doesn't tell you specific calories in an item, but it can tell you if what you're eating has nutritional value and what's good or bad about it.
• Bill Splitting (U.S. only) - If you take a photo of a restaurant bill, you can split out what you ate and then send money via Apple Cash. Or calculate what everyone owes and request money.
• Import Multiple Events - You can import multiple events into the Calendar or Reminders app at one time from a schedule or list.
• Import Contacts - You can import contacts from a photo of a business card.
• Wallet Passes - You can turn a photo of a barcode from a membership or pass into a Wallet pass.

‌Visual Intelligence‌ is much more powerful than before because of ‌Siri‌'s ability to search the web for answers. It can read laundry labels and give you clear instructions, look up items and find reviews on the web, identify odd devices or cables and tell you what they're for, scale recipes, read ingredient lists for you to check for allergens, transcribe messy written notes or lists into text, decipher confusing parking signs, offer plant care advice, solve math problems on a worksheet, and whatever else you can think to ask AI to do.

Other Visual Intelligence Capabilities

‌Visual Intelligence‌ has a long list of things it can be used for, and these options have been available in earlier versions of iOS.

• Identify plants, animals, insects, landmarks, art, sculptures, books, and more.
• Add items to your calendar from a piece of paper like an event poster or flyer.
• Use Google Image Search to find similar images.
• Search Etsy, Amazon, Anthropologie, and other apps for an item that you capture with the camera.
• Provide details about a business in front of you, like hours of operation.
• Translate, summarize, and read text aloud.

Siri App Integration

All of your ‌Visual Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ requests are saved in the ‌Siri‌ app so you can revisit them later. The ‌Siri‌ app can be set to retain conversations for a month, a year, or forever.

Visual Intelligence on Other Platforms

Apple expanded ‌Visual Intelligence‌ to iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and visionOS 27. On Mac, you can use a Command-Shift-Space keyboard shortcut to access ‌Visual Intelligence‌ and select a part of your display to ask a question about. On ‌iPad‌, you can access ‌Visual Intelligence‌ by taking a screenshot or swiping up from the lower left corner with Apple Pencil.

On Vision Pro, you can use ‌Visual Intelligence‌ just by looking at something, including physical items around you.

Device Requirements

‌Visual Intelligence‌ in ‌iOS 27‌ requires an iPhone 15 Pro or later. For Mac, you need an Apple silicon chip, and on the ‌iPad‌, you need an Apple silicon chip or the A17 Pro iPad mini.

Nimble this week debuted the SharePower, a USB-C power bank that can be used as a single charger or split into two chargers so it can be shared with a friend.

SharePower is a 10,000mAh power bank, with 5,000mAh available through each side of the device. The two halves attach together magnetically for charging a single smartphone, or come apart to charge two. We were able to test the SharePower before launch to see how it works.

Each side has an included USB-C cable. The left half has a 7-inch braided cable that doubles as a lanyard and it can tuck into the interior when the two halves are connected and the cable isn't in use. The right half of the power bank has a short pop-out USB-C cable. The side with the pop-out cable is nice because it attaches to the bottom of the iPhone and it's compact in size. The longer cable is useful if you need a bit more length when charging.

In our testing, both modules charged at the advertised speeds, but there was a faint electronic sound when charging, regardless of whether one module was in use or both modules were paired. 5,000mAh isn't enough to charge an iPhone 17 Pro Max to full, but the combined 10,000mAh can do so.

When paired, the two halves deliver up to 35W power to fast charge an iPhone, and when separated, each half offers 20W charging. There are two additional USB-C ports, one on each side, so up to four devices can be charged at one time when the power bank is separated, and three when it's combined. 20W is a little slow because the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models need a higher watt charger to fast charge, but it's nice to have the option for splitting the charger if two people need power at once.

There's an LCD display that lets you know the remaining charge when the two halves come together and when they're separated, and it's a clever design. The left half has indicator lights so you can see the battery level when it's separated, and the right half has a percent reading. When the two halves are reunited, the percent reading changes to the combined total instead of just the battery level of the right half. When your device is fast charging, there's a green PD light.

There are smaller 10,000mAh power banks out there, but the dual design of the SharePower stands out. It measures 2.8 inches by 3.1 inches, and it is an inch thick. It weighs 7.6 ounces, and comes with an extra USB-C cable so you can charge it.

Nimble's SharePower is useful for anyone who has run into a situation where multiple people need to charge their iPhones at one time. With hundreds of power banks on the market, it manages to distinguish itself with added flexibility.

SharePower is available in white, blue, and pink. It can be purchased from the SharePower website or from Apple.com for $80.

Apple today released a new firmware update for the Beats Studio Buds. The firmware, 1B211, addresses a Bluetooth vulnerability.

Apple's security support document for the update says it fixes a bug that could allow an attacker in Bluetooth range to listen through the microphone of the device.

The vulnerability would only be affected if someone was in Bluetooth range and the Studio Buds were not yet paired and seeking pair requests.

The bug was in open source code, and Apple Software was among the affected projects.

Updating the firmware of the Beats Studio Buds can be done by pairing them with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, putting them on a charger, and keeping them in Bluetooth range of the paired device.

Apple has teamed up with accessory makers to offer chargers, stands, power banks, cables, and more in bright color options like blue, pink, and teal. The splash of color arrives in time for summer in the U.S. and many other countries.

The new color options are available exclusively from Apple, both online and for in-store pickup.

Notably, one of the accessories added to Apple's online store today is the PopSockets Low-Pro, which is the thinnest version of the popular accessory ever. Priced at $39.95 in the U.S., the MagSafe-compatible accessory continues to function as both an iPhone grip and a stand, except this version has a thickness of just 2.5mm.

Other participating brands include Belkin, Herschel, Mophie, Nimble, Scosche, and Twelve South.

Here are some examples:

• Mophie Knit Puck for AirTag
• Twelve South PowerClip Power Bank & Charger
• Herschel AirTag Charm
• Nimble SharePower Portable Battery Charger
• Scosche StrikeLine USB-C to USB-C Cable (1 m)
• Herschel Cloudform Burrard Organizer Tech
• Belkin UltraCharge Pro 20K Power Bank with Integrated Cable
• Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 Bluetooth Transmitter
• Herschel Cloud Sling for iPhone

Apple also began selling some other accessories through its online store that are not part of this seasonal color refresh, including Logitech's MX Master 4 mouse, Nimble's Podium 3-in-1 wireless charger, Twelve South's PowerBug charger (with Qi 2.2 support), and more, with all of the latest additions listed on Apple's New Product Arrivals page.